Reapportionment Government: Libertyville HS

What is Reapportionment? A method to re-draw congressional district lines to reflect the population changes in America, from state to state Also called “redistricting” Who does it affect? – House of Representatives members ONLY – US Senators NOT affected (why?) – In example, where do you want to live? US population change, ,000 5 million 500,000 1 million

What is the Process? Census Bureau counts our population every 10 years to determine where people live Census Bureau divides the total population of the US by 435 (why?) This determines the number of Americans per district Census Bureau then tells each state how many congressional seats it has Reapportionment effect, 2000

What is the Process? Each state legislature redraws the district lines – Congress – State Legislature – New lines reflect addition / loss of seats Court challenges follow to assure constitutionality and fairness of map Challenges can be brought in state or federal courts Will end up in USSC

What can be Taken into Consideration? USSC has decided many cases to determine what can be considered in reapportionment – Same # of people must be in each district (“one man, one vote”): Wesberry v. Sanders – Keep communities together! (AVOID GERRYMANDERING) – Race / ethnicity of a pop. IS NOT allowed Exception: if a compelling state interest is shown Past discrimination is not a compelling state interest Showing present discrimination would be enough (Shaw v. Reno)

What can be Taken into Consideration? Political preference of a population can be considered when re- districting (Latin Voters v. Perry)

Athena Map What is fair and equitable? Assignment – Split map into 20 districts – MUST have equal numbers of symbols in each district (meaning, 10 per district) – On back of map, write and explanation why it is fair and equitable

Extra Credit: New Utopia New Utopia has 2.8 million residents Each district must have 400,000 residents Total number of districts = 7 You want to assure victory for the Democratic Party by creating districts with 65% majority of that party Thus, you will need to either GROUP the Republican party’s voters or SPLIT them between the districts Lines dividing districts must be STRAIGHT Try to keep districts as compact as possible

Illinois Congressional Map