Congressional Redistricting
"We are in the business of rigging elections.”
-Former State Senator Mark McDaniel
Step 1: Reapportionment
 There are 435 members in the House
of Representatives.
 After each census, the number of
representatives are distributed among
the states based on population.
Step 2: Redistricting
 State legislatures then draw up the
congressional districts for their state,
• One district for each representative.
• After the 2000 census, CA was apportioned
53 seats in the House of Reps. Therefore
there are 53 congressional districts in CA.
 MAP
Principles of Redistricting
 Equal Population - Each district must
contain roughly the same number of people
(approx. 650,000 per district)
• One Person, One Vote
 Contiguity - Each district should be one
continuous shape.
• No "land islands" are allowed.
 Compactness - Generally, districts should
be drawn in compact shapes.
• Extremely jagged edges and skinny extensions
are hallmarks of gerrymandered districts.
What is Gerrymandering?
 Gerrymandering:
Manipulating electoral
boundaries to give one
group an advantage over
another.
 Named after Governor of
MA, Elbridge Gerry
 How It Happens
Types of Gerrymandering
 Partisan Gerrymander: When the
majority party draws the district lines to
maximize the power of their own party.
 Sweetheart Gerrymander: When the
people in charge of redistricting draw
district lines to ensure that incumbents
of both parties win reelection.
 Racial Gerrymander: The drawing of
districts to either minimize or maximize
the power of minority voters
Gerrymandering Techniques
 Cracking - Spreading like-minded voters
apart across multiple districts to dilute their
voting power in each.
• This denies the group representation in multiple
districts.
 Packing - Concentrating like-minded voters
together in one district to reduce their voting
power in other districts.
• This gives the group representation in a single
district while denying them representation across
districts.
Gerrymandering in CA
Gerrymandering in NY
Gerrymandering in TX
Gerrymandering in Ohio
The Effects of Gerrymandering
 "Here is a telling statistic: 153 of California's
congressional and legislative seats were up in the
last election and not one changed parties. What
kind of democracy is that?”
• Governor Arnold Schwargenegger, 2005 State of the
State Address
 "It used to be that the idea was, once every two
years voters elected their representatives, and
now, instead, it's every ten years the
representatives choose their constituents.”
• Pamela Karlan, Professor of Public Interest Law at
Stanford Law School
Think About It!!!
 What effect does gerrymandering have
on the democratic process?
• Can we really claim to be a democracy
when this is allowed to happen?
 How can this abuse of power be
prevented? What can be done?
 Visit:
• www.redistrictinggame.org
 Play the Redistricting Game
• Accomplish your mission and print out
evidence