Chapter 6

Understand what apportionment is…
▪ How it changes representation in Congress!

How political parties manipulate this process
for their benefit!
▪ Gerrymandering…

U.S. Congress! (House and Senate)
▪ How do they work?

The U.S. Census Bureau and Population

Article I, Section 2:
▪ “The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for
every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least
one Representative…”
Ohio vs. Texas – Population Growth – 2000 to 2010

What happens with all this new information
on the United States’ population every 10
years?
▪ Each state is forced to redraw Congressional district
lines to account for changes in population…
▪ “Redistricting”

Article I, Section 2 – Constitution
▪ “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several
states according to their respective numbers”
Current
Congressional
Districts
Enacted
Congressional
Districts
Now, you might ask, how does
all this “apportionment” and
“redistricting” apply to voting in
the United States?
Gerrymandering!

History of Gerrymandering, Elbridge Gerry,
Republicans vs. Federalists and
Redistricting…

“It looks like a salamander!” … “No, it looks
like a _______________!”

Gerrymandering had always taken place!

*** 1842, Reapportionment Act…
▪ “contiguous” and “compact.”
▪ 1962, the SCOTUS ruled that districts must have fair
borders and an appropriate population mixture.

In 1985, the SCOTUS ruled that manipulating
district borders to give an advantage to one
political party was unconstitutional!
Enacted
Congressional
Districts