Reapportionment and GerrymanderingAmerican Citizenship

Historical Overview Constitution – Article 1, Section 2,

Clause 3Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons

Representation in the House of Representatives is based on a state’s population…the more people that live in a state, the more representatives that state will have.

BUT DOESN’T POPULATION CHANGE?Yes. So…

Every ten years the US Census Bureau records the population of the United States.

Set the size of the House at 435 members

Made census bureau responsible for determining the # of seats each states would have…

Reapportionment Act of 1929

Apportionment:

Redistricting: Terms to Know-write the definitions into your notes.

After each census, Congress uses the new population count to apportion (distribute) the 435 states among the states.

2010 Reapportionment

The regional patterns of change in congressional representation between 2000 and 2010 reflect the nation's continuing shift in population from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West.

Once seats are apportioned… what’s next?

State legislatures decide the boundaries of the congressional districts in its state.

How are district

boundaries drawn?

Why are districts different sizes? In the past, many boundaries were UNFAIR because districts in a state varied in population size….so citizens in smaller districts had greater representation than those in larger districts.

Wesberry v. Sanders(1964) – Court established “one person – one vote” principle –

(each person’s vote should be roughly equal to all

others)

Wesberry v. Sanders led to the redrawing of many

congressional districts….

There will always be differences in population in districts but not

the HUGE variations of the past.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r7qJvprHXw

What is gerrymandering? The process of drawing districts lines to

benefit one group or another

Wait…aren’t there rules?Yes…districts must be

contiguous (physically touching) of equal population

Where did the name “gerrymandering” come from?Election of 1812 – Massachusetts legislature passed a redistricting bill increasing the chances of the Democratic-Republican candidate, Thomas Jefferson’s chances of winning….

Governor Elderidge Gerry (a Federalist) signed bill & took blame…

“Gerrymandering”

Types of gerrymandering

PARTISAN Benefits one

political party over another

Party has enough seats in legislature to control the process

RACIAL District lines are

drawn to either favor or harm an ethnic or racial group

Why? Political parties draw boundaries that would split districts previously controlled by the opposing party…

Gerrymandering

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=659Owqa-XCE

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/53280343#53280343

Your Task: Redistrict and gerrymander a fictional state. Each letter

represents a county in the state as well as the party that has the most support in that county.

R = Republican D=Democrat

Note that in the state the Republican Party actually has a majority in only two more counties than the Democrats.

(13 R counties, 11 D)

Gerrymandering 101 The state has 5 congressional districts.

I am going to gerrymander the House districts to give the Republican Party a 4-1 advantage (even though the party only has 13 safe Republican counties).

As I draw the lines, draw the same ones on your Handout #1. This is Redistricting Plan 1.

Your turn…but watch the rules!

Rule: 1 person=1 vote…each district must have at least 4

counties and not more than 5

Rule: Districts must be

contiguous, single member

districts&

State legislatures draw lines in most states

You do it… Redraw the lines to get the Democrats

a better deal.

And now… Re-draw it so Republicans get a better

deal.

Answer on the back of handouts:1. What are the consequences of redistricting or

reapportionment?2. What is gerrymandering and why is it used?

Did you get it?

Exit Questions