DAY 11: Congressional Districts
TLW: Define gerrymandering and develop a
“gerrymandered” map.
KEY VOCABULARY
Apportionment, Reapportionment, Census, Congressman at-large,
Gerrymander, Wesberry v. Sanders (1964), Reapportionment Act of 1929
Worst High School Mascots
Hoopstown, Indiana
New Berlin Pretzels
The House of Representatives
• Size and Terms—apportioned (distributed) among the states based on the basis of
their populations…each state is guaranteed one seat…435 total seats
REAPPORTIONMENT
Reapportionment—redistribute the seats every 10 years
– Reapportionment Act of
1929—”permanent “ size of
the House is 435; following
each census it is determined
how many seats each state
shall have; President sends
the plan for seat allocation to
the Congress; if neither
house rejects the seat totals
within 60 days it becomes
effective
Raul Grijalva
• House of
Representatives
John McCain
• Senate
Jeff Flake
• Senate
DISTRICTS
• Districts: 435
congressional
districts (7 states
have 1
representative so
428 congressional
districts divided
among 43 states)
– Single Member
District means
voters choose from
candidates running
in that particular
district
Gerrymandering
• Gerrymandering—is the drawing
of districts to the advantage of
the political party that controls
the State’s legislature
– Drawn to concentrate opposition’s
voters so other areas are left for the
dominant party
– Spread the opposition so thinly that
they have less of a chance to win
elections
– Usually divided between Urban and
Rural areas
– Wesberry v. Sanders, 1964—Georgia’s
congressional districts were divided
too unevenly and “…one man’s vote in
an election is to be worth as much as
another’s…”
Gerrymandering before you know what it is…
•
•
Draw the box below and then divide the box into 3 separate areas. Each area must
have 4 circles each. Try and make it so “A” has the most circles in each area.
We want A to have a political advantage.
B
B
B
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
Gerrymandering before you know what it is…
• Draw the box below and then divide the box into 3 separate areas. Each area must
have 4 circles each. Try and make it so “A” has the most circles in each area.
B
B
B
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
Define the terms:
Apportionment,
reapportionment, census,
Congressman-at-large,
Gerrymander, Wesberry v.
Sanders (1964), Reapportionment
Act of 1929
Why do states do it?
Who is legally responsible for it?
What are the steps of
reapportionment?