Congressional Redistricting
"We are in the business of rigging elections.”
-Former State Senator Mark McDaniel (R - NC)
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 draw up
congressional districts for
their state,
• One district for each
representative.
• Ex. 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 should
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 - Districts should be drawn in
compact shapes.
• Extremely jagged edges and skinny extensions
are hallmarks of gerrymandered districts.
What is Gerrymandering?
 Gerrymandering:
The manipulation of
electoral boundaries
to give one group an
advantage over
another.
• Named after the
governor of MA,
Elbridge Gerry
Types of Gerrymandering
 Partisan Gerrymander: When the
majority party draws the district lines to
maximize the power of their own party.
 Racial Gerrymander: When districts
are drawn 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.
 Packing - Concentrating like-minded
voters together in one district to reduce
their voting power in other districts.
Gerrymandering Techniques
 Hijacking: Separating an incumbent
candidate from his constituents and
placing him/her in a district where
he/she has no name recognition.
 Kidnapping: Drawing two incumbent
candidates into the same district so
they must run against each other.
Gerrymandering in CA
Gerrymandering in NC (1992)
Gerrymandering in NY
Gerrymandering in TX
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
Effects of Gerrymandering
"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 we prevent this abuse of power?
 What are the implications for the next
census?
Extra Credit Opportunity
 Visit:
• www.redistrictinggame.org
 Play the Redistricting Game
• Accomplish your mission and print out
evidence for 10 extra credit points!