Congress:
Representative Pressures
Jamie Monogan
University of Georgia
September 21, 2015
Objectives
By the end of this meeting, participants
should be able to:
• Debate how members of Congress
can best represent constituents.
Constitutional Prerogatives:
Powers of Congress
• Designed to be the most powerful
branch
• Primary lawmaking body
• Article 1, Section 8, lists enumerated
(or expressed) powers
• Also lists the necessary and proper
(or “elastic”) clause, where the
broadest power is found
Constitutional Prerogatives:
Structure
• Representation through a bicameral
legislature
– Comprised of the House and Senate
– Connecticut Compromise between large
and small states
• House and Senate: contrast term
lengths & percentage up for reelection
• Principal-agent problem: public
representation
What is the Best
Type of Representation?
• How does a member determine how
best to represent her constituents?
• Edmund Burke proposed that
sometimes members act like trustees
and other times like delegates
• Most members try to balance these
visions of representation
Redistricting
• The number of districts in each state
is based on population, with each
state getting at least one
• The total number of districts has been
fixed at 435 since 1911
• Most states redraw district lines every
ten years even if they don’t lose or
gain seats
Redistricting and “One
Person, One Vote”
• Supreme Court put restrictions on the
drawing of districts in the 1960s
– Baker v. Carr (1962)
– Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)
– Reynolds v. Sims (1964)
• Districts must adhere to “one person,
one vote” standard
• Forced states to draw districts with
equal populations
Gerrymandering
• Politics easily intrudes
into the drawing of
districts
• By redistricting, states
can manipulate
representation
• Districts are frequently
drawn in strange shapes
to gain political
advantage
Texas, District 18 in 1992
Redistricting and Minority
Representation
• Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the election of more
minority candidates
• Section 2: No dilution of minority vote (no packing or
cracking)
• Court scrutiny of congressional redistricting
– Section 5 provision for preclearance
– Shelby County v. Holder (2013) and Section 4(b)
• Federal examiners under Section 6 (expired 2006)
• Also a rise in the number of women elected, but
Congress still does not demographically mirror the
nation as a whole
Partisan and Racial
Redistricting
Assignments
• Chapter 5 concept map exercise due at
11:59pm on Wednesday.
– Login to ELC to complete
• Also for Wednesday:
Read Kollman, pp. 153-183
• For Friday: Read Bullock & Gaddie, Chapter 5
Additional Material
Causes of Individualism:
Plurality & SMD
• Elections for the House and Senate
use single-member districts (SMD)
and plurality rule
• In single-member districts, each
district/state chooses one
representative
• Plurality means that whoever receives
the most votes wins
Causes of Individualism:
Primary Elections
• Candidates for office used to be
determined by leaders in the party
organization
• Primaries started as a way to nominate
candidates in the early 20th century
• Primaries allow voters to choose who
will appear under the party label on the
general-election ballot
The Incumbency Advantage
• Members of Congress are reelected
in very high numbers
• What causes this advantage?
– Gerrymandering
– Pork
– Television access
– Campaign finance
– National party efforts