Election Districts and Redistricting GOVT 2305, Module 11

At-Large Elections An at-large election is a method for choosing public officials in which the citizens of an entire political subdivision, such as a state, vote to select officeholders. U. S. senators, state governors, and other state executive-branch officials are elected at- large in statewide elections. States that are so sparsely populated that they have only one representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, such as Alaska, Delaware, and Wyoming, choose their member of Congress in statewide at-large elections as well.

District Elections Georgia Congressional Districts A district election is a method for choosing public officials that divides a political subdivision, such as a state, into geographic areas called districts and each district elects one official. States with more than one U.S. representative choose their members of Congress from districts. Texas with 36 members of the U.S. House, has 36 U.S. congressional districts, each of which elects one representative. The members of state legislatures are also chosen in district elections. Why are the districts different sized? Population density varies. Can you find Atlanta?

Reapportionment Legislative district boundaries must be redrawn every 10 years after the national census is taken. Census data are used for apportioning the 435 seats of the U.S. House of Representatives among the states. Apportionment is the allocation of legislative seats among the states.

One Person, One Vote In Baker v. Carr (1962) and Wesberry v. Sanders (1964), the Supreme Court established the doctrine of one person, one vote, which is the judicial ruling that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that legislative districts be apportioned on the basis of population. Legislative district boundaries must be drawn to ensure nearly equal population size. Why is this district so large? The area is sparsely populated.

Redistricting Legislative districts must also be redrawn if census data show population movement within a state. Redistricting is the process through which the boundaries of legislative districts are redrawn to reflect population movement. In the 2012 election, Texas elected 36 members of the House from 36 districts, four more than in 2010.

Redistricting Process Most states redistrict through the legislative process; that is, the legislature passes a redistricting bill and sends it to the governor. If one political party holds a majority of seats in the state legislature and controls the governor’s office as well, it will be in good position to draw congressional districts designed to protect its incumbents from serious challenge from the other party while, perhaps, shifting some of the seats held by the other party into its column.

Republican Advantage The Republican Party controlled the 2011 redistricting process in more states than did the Democratic Party. The Republicans used redistricting to their advantage, giving Republican candidates a leg up in many states. In 2014, most voters cast their ballots for Democratic candidates for Congress. Nonetheless, Republicans won a solid majority of House seats.

Gerrymandering Redistricting can be used to advance the interests of a political party or a particular individual. In fact, the practice is so common that there is a word for it, gerrymandering, the drawing of legislative district lines for political advantage. The term dates from early nineteenth-century Massachusetts when Governor Elbridge Gerry was behind the creation of a district that observers said resembled a salamander, hence the term Gerry-mander.

Votes and House Seats--2012 In 2012, Democratic candidates for the U.S. House actually won 1.4 million more votes than Republican candidates. Nonetheless, because of the way seats were drawn, Republicans won 17 more districts and maintained control of the House.

What We Have Learned What is the difference between an at-large and a district election? What is reapportionment? What region of the country lost seats in the House after the 2010 Census? Which region gained seats? What is redistricting? How do the one person, one vote decisions affect the redistricting process? Who is responsible for drawing legislative district boundaries? What is gerrymandering? How does the redistricting process affect the outcome of elections?