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

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

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. 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. ~ Elkanah Tisdale, 1812 The Original “Gerrymander” Cartoon

Gerrymandering Example Diagram Left: Four districts of even “Red” and “Green” party voters, 8 from each party. Right: Redrawing the balanced electoral districts in this example creates only one packed district of 14 green voters. The remaining 18 green voters are cracked across the 3 other districts. The result is a 3-to-1 advantage for the “Red” party.

Gerrymandering Effects The effects of gerrymandering can be detrimental to the democratic process Gerrymandered districts favor incumbents that are difficult to unseat in elections, thus creating safe seats. Safe districts with incumbents with less incentive to govern by constituents’ needs ◦ Proportional or descriptive representation is then altered Meaningful campaigns are also influenced, further demoralizing voters. In the 2002 election, only four incumbents in the US Congress were defeated, the lowest number in history. ◦ This was in part due to redistricting and gerrymandering by incumbents.

Illinois' 4th Congressional District The 4th Congressional District of Illinois connects two Hispanic neighborhoods while remaining connected by narrowly tracing Interstate 294.

Separated by over 200 miles

Gerrymandering Example: Arizona's 2nd congressional district Since the Hopi reservation is completely surrounded by the Navajo reservation, and in order to comply with current Arizona redistricting laws, some means of connection was required that avoided including large portions of Navajo land, hence the narrow Colorado River connection. The unusual division was not drawn to favor politicians, but to separate the Hopi and the Navajo tribes, due to historic tensions.

Gerrymandering Example: Texas’s 22nd congressional district This mid-decade redistricting resulted in six additional seats in US congress This district was the result of redistricting in 2003, when Texas congress had become republican, the first time since Reconstruction

Gerrymandering Example: California’s 38th congressional district District 38 was produced by California's incumbent gerrymandering, as home to democrat Grace Flores Napolitano, who ran unopposed in 2004

Gerrymandering Example: Texas’s 25 th congressional district U.S. congressional districts covering Travis County (outlined in red) in 2002, left, and 2004, right. In 2003, Republicans in the Texas legislature redistricted the state, diluting the voting power of the heavily Democratic county by parceling its residents out to more Republican districts. The district in orange is the infamous "Fajita strip" district 25 (intended as a Democratic district), while the other two districts (10 and 21) are intended to elect Republicans. District 25 has now been redrawn as a result of the 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision, and is no longer a "Fajita strip."

Gerrymandering Example: Texas’s 25 th congressional district U