Gerrymandering

Diagram 1 You have 50 people. You know whether they are Republican or Democrat, how many are of each party, and where they live.

Diagram 2 Draw 5 districts with perfect representation.

Diagram 3 Now, blue controls the state. What happens if you try to draw 5 compact districts? What do you get?

Diagram 4 Red controls the state. You want your party to win more seats. How do you draw the districts?

Source: Ingraham, Christopher Source: Ingraham, Christopher. "This Is the Best Explanation of Gerrymandering You Will Ever See." The Washington Post. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/01/this-is-the-best-explanation-of-gerrymandering-you-will-ever-see/?utm_term=.184805ed5d6f>.

Source: Ingraham, Christopher Source: Ingraham, Christopher. "This Is the Best Explanation of Gerrymandering You Will Ever See." The Washington Post. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/01/this-is-the-best-explanation-of-gerrymandering-you-will-ever-see/?utm_term=.184805ed5d6f>.

Why are we redrawing districts? U.S. Constitution requires Census Reapportionment happens after every Census

Most recent reapportionment: What is the spatial pattern you see? What states gained and lost population? What regions gained and lost population? What do these changes say about regional migration in the U.S?

How has our state’s apportionment changed over time?

How has our state’s apportionment changed over time?

What are consequences of gerrymandering? Partisan power Lack of social cohesion Advantages/disadvantages to individual candidates Advantages/disadvantages to voting bloc Majority-minority districts (also opportunity districts or ability-to-elect districts) Lower voter participation Judicial challenges Preclearance Source: AP Human Geography Scoring Guidelines, 2015

Terms to know: Territorial representation: “system wherein each representative is elected from a territorially-defined district” (Fouberg, et al.) Reapportionment: emphasis on within the US; states gain/lose numbers of representatives based on whether they gain/lose population Redistricting: political process within each state to determine where the boundaries of each US Congressional voting district will be (states must redistrict within federal guidelines) Partisan power: power of a particular political party

What states are more likely to have gerry-mandered districts? Source: Ingraham, “Congressional District Compactness, 113th Congress.”

What might a gerrymandered district look like on a map? Source: Ingraham, “America’s most gerrymandered congressional districts.” See more gerrymandered districts online at the hyperlink.

What might districts look like without gerrymandering and drawn by GIS? Source: Ingraham, “This is actually what America would look like without gerrymandering.”

What does the Supreme Court prefer? Compact and contiguous districts that follow existing lines such as county boundaries Representational equality of racial and linguistic minorities Why?

What are some ties with current events? Supreme Court has decided two cases in 2017. VA sent back to lower court NC (McCrory v. Harris): Decision: “lawmakers had violated the Constitution by relying too heavily on race in drawing them” Eric Holder: “watershed moment” What are some ties with current events?

What is the geography? Quantitative Spatial Real-World Census: How often is the Census taken, why, & what are its results? Reapportionment: How has reapportionment looked in our state over time? Spatial Reapportionment Map: What does the latest reapportionment map look like? What patterns does it reveal? Compact Districts: What do compact districts generally look like? Gerrymandered Districts: What do gerrymandered districts generally look like? Constitution, Voting Rights Act, Supreme Court: What is the connection among the Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, & the Supreme Court in affecting gerrymandering? Gerrymandering Cases: VA and NC Reapportionment Map: What is the connection among reapportionment and gerrymandering? Spatial + Demographic + Political Every 10 Years: When will reapportionment happen again? Within Every State: How and why does redistricting happen in every state? Real-World What is the geography?