Bending the Rules: Drawing Congressional Districts
1) What are the two basic rules for district boundaries?
#1 - Must be _____________________________ and _______________________________
#2 - Must have about the same number of _________________________________
2) Who is given the power to draw Congressional districts? Why might this be problematic
without some kind of control? __________________________________________________________
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3) Give an example of one problem that occurred (or might have occurred) in states before
the courts began to get involved in cases dealing with the drawing of Congressional
districts. _______________________________________________________________________________
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Wesberry vs. Sanders
James P. Wesberry, Jr. was one of the citizens of Fulton County, Georgia, who filed suit
challenging the state apportionment law. Georgia's 5th Congressional District, which included
Fulton County, was one of five voting districts created by a 1931 Georgia law. By 1960, the
population of the 5th district had grown to such an extent that its single congressman had to
represent two to three times as many voters as did congressmen in the other Georgia
districts.
Wesberry based his claim that the district was unconstitutional on Article I, section 2, of
the U.S. Constitution, which states that, "The House of Representatives shall be composed of
Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States," and on section 2 of the
Fourteenth Amendment, which reads in part: "Representatives shall be apportioned among the
several States according to their respective numbers…”
4) What was the problem with the 5th district in Georgia, according to Wesberry? ___________
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5) Do you think it is fair to have a district like this? Why/why not? _____________________
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6) What was the Supreme Court’s ruling in this case? _____________________________________
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After the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, an effort was made to encourage the election
of minority representatives to Congress by influencing the district-drawing process.
7) Do you think that the government should encourage or require states to draw a certain
number of “majority-minority” districts to give certain groups’ a representative in
Congress? Why or why not? ___________________________________________________________
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Shaw vs. Reno
In the fall of 1991, a reapportionment plan was submitted for the state of North
Carolina that only included one black minority district. This plan was subsequently rejected
by the U.S. Attorney General due to the lack of minority voting representation. In order to
remedy this, a revised plan was submitted that included a second majority-minority district
of an unusual shape.
The new district was at times no wider than a two-lane highway and ran along
Interstate 85 for about 160 miles. Five white residents of this new district, including Shaw,
filed a claim that this new district was created for the sole purpose of adding another black
representative.
This rearrangement of district lines to produce a change in the voting majority of a
certain area is called a "gerrymander." Because this new district consisted of such an
unusual shape so that it deliberately encompassed areas with higher black populations,
these residents believed that the state may have violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal
Protection Clause, which prevents any state from discriminating (making unfair distinctions)
against persons according to their race.
8) What was the problem with the 12th district in North Carolina, according to Shaw? ______
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9) Do you think it is fair to draw districts like this in order to “guarantee” minority
representation? Why/why not? ________________________________________________________
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10) What was the Supreme Court’s ruling in this case? _____________________________________
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**This court case gave rise to the third rule for drawing Congressional districts:
#3 – Race can be ______________________________ when drawing Congressional districts,
but it cannot be used as a _____________________________________ factor.