1. Identify and analyze issues related
to the election process in the United
States
2. Trace key Supreme Court decisions
related to a provision of the
Constitution (e.g., cases related to
reapportionment of legislative
districts
The deliberate rearrangement of the
boundaries of congressional districts
to influence the outcome of elections
The number of legislators elected to the
House of Representatives from each state is
based on that state’s population.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned
among the several States which may be included within
this Union, according to their respective numbers....The
actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after
the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and
within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such
Manner as they shall by Law direct.
Article I, Section 2 Clause 3
U.S. Constitution
The process of dividing the 435 seats in the
House of Representatives among the 50 states
State
Apportionment
Population
Number of
Apportioned
Representatives
Based on
Census 2000
Change From
1990 Census
Apportionment
Ohio
11,374,540
18
-1
Pennsylvania
12,300,670
19
-2
Illinois
12,439,042
19
-1
Michigan
9,955,829
15
-1
California
33,930,798
53
+1
Arizona
5,140,683
8
+2
New York
19,004,973
29
-2
Georgia
8,206,975
13
+2
Texas
20,903,994
32
+2
Process of revising district boundaries in order
to balance population represented by individual
members of a district type.
Original gerrymander
was created in 1812
by Mass. governor
Elbridge Gerry, who
crafted a district
for political purposes
that looked like a
salamander
1. Packing - place as many voters of 1 type into a
single district to reduce their influence in other
districts.
2. Cracking - involves spreading out voters of a
particular type among many districts in order to
reduce their representation by denying them a
sufficiently large voting block in any particular
district.
Special districting software has made
gerrymandering a far more precise science.
political party registration
previous campaign donations
# of times residents voted in previous elections
Age
Income
Race
Education level
Redistricting Software
Highway 106 “Toxic Spill”
The Ghost Busters
Fuzzy Earmuffs
Road Kill
Swamp Fever
Miller v. Johnson 1994
Supreme Court ruled this district
unconstitutional since it’s borders
were drawn with explicitly racial
motives.
1991
District
Representative
Party
Hometown
1
Steve Driehaus
D
Cincinnati
2
Jean Schmidt
R
Miami Township
3
Michael R. Turner
R
Dayton
4
Jim Jordan
R
Urbana
5
Bob Latta
R
Tiffin
6
Charles A. Wilson
D
St. Clairsville
7
Steve Austria
R
Springfield
8
John A. Boehner
R
West Chester
9
Marcy Kaptur
D
Toledo
10
Dennis J. Kucinich
D
Cleveland
11
Marcia Fudge
D
Cleveland
12
Pat Tiberi
D
Galena
13
Betty Sutton
D
Copley
14
Steven C. LaTourette
R
Concord Township
15
Mary Jo Kilroy
D
Columbus
16
John Boccieri
D
Navarre
17
Tim Ryan
D
Niles
18
Zachary T. Space
D
Dover
In 1967, Congress passed a law requiring all
U.S. Reps to be elected from single
member.
Congress in 1982 amended the Voting Rights
Act to protect voting rights of protected
racial minorities in redistricting. Within
those laws, states have great leeway to
draw districts, which often leads to
gerrymandering.
1. Reduction in electoral competition & voter
turnout
2. Increased incumbent advantage &
campaign costs
3. Less descriptive representation
4. Incumbent gerrymandering
1. Redistricting by neutral or cross-party
agency
2. Shortest splitline algorithm
3. Proportional representation
2003 Texas Redistricting
Video
3 Districts
Sun – 1
Moon - 2
3 Districts
Sun – 2
Moon - 1
4 Districts
Green – 1?
Magenta – 3?
14th Amendment’s Equal
Protection Clause; “one man,
one vote”; ordered state
legislative districts to be as
near equal as possible in
population; reapportionment;
example of Warren Court’s
judicial activism
Built on Baker case; Required virtually every state legislature
to be reapportioned; shifted power from rural to urban areas
Ordered House of Representative legislative districts
to be as near in population as possible; extended
Baker v. Carr (1962) to the national government
No racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole
or predominant factor in redrawing legislative
boundaries; majority-minority districts.
1. Is Redistricting fair? Why or Why
not?
2. How do your political beliefs alter your
answer?
3. Do you believe the redistricting
process should be less partisan?
4. In what ways, if any, would you reform
the current process?