Redistricting,
Reapportionment
&
Gerrymandering
Congressional Elections
Congressional elections are different than
presidential elections
 There is no electoral college or majority
needed
 The candidate that receives THE MOST
votes (not necessarily a majority) is the
winner
◦ This is called the Plurality System

Redistricting
 Redistricting
is the redrawing of
congressional districts.
 Purposes: to reflect an
increase/decrease in population or a
shift in population
House of Representatives

Each state has 1 member and the
remainder of the members is divided
proportionally among the states
according to population.
Maryland’s New Congressional
Districts: from 2010 Census
But how do you know if your
population has increased or
decreased?
The Census
 The
constitutionally
mandated process of
counting all people living
in the United States
 The
census has been
conducted every 10
years since 1790, as
required by the United
States Constitution
Reapportionment

A new distribution of congressional seats in
the House of Representatives is based on
census results

The US and Constitutions require
reapportionment of national, state, and local
legislative bodies following each census.

This process often requires Redistricting
which occurs in the legislative branch by the
majority party.
Gerrymandering
The political party controlling the state
government draws a district’s boundaries
to gain an advantage in elections. (this
power has been historically abused)
 This often results in district boundaries
that have very irregular shapes

Packing and Cracking

Packing refers to putting as many voters
of a single type into one district to
minimize their influence in other districts.
Cracking is spreading out voters of a
single type so they will always be in the
minority in any given district.
In 1811, the Governor of
Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry,
helped to ensure the election of two
Democratic senators by creating a
new political district. The term and
subsequent political cartoon is a
combination of the salamander shape
of the district along with his name.
The Original “Gerrymander” Cartoon
~ Elkanah Tisdale, 1812
Gerrymandering issues have
appeared several times in the
Supreme Court. In 1964, the
Supreme Court case, Wesberry v.
Sanders outlawed gerrymandering
and established the “one man, one
vote” principle. The Court also
agreed that the Voting Rights Act of
1965 said that purposeful
gerrymandering of a congressional
district to dilute minority strength is
illegal.
The 4th
Congressional
District of
Illinois
connects two
Hispanic
neighborhoods
while
remaining
connected by
narrowly
tracing
Interstate 294.
Illinois' 4th
Congressional District
Separated by over 200 miles