Congressional Districts, Apportionment, and Reapportionment Meghan Fowler and Jane Kim

27d: Discuss the formation of congressional districts, including apportionment, reapportionment, redistricting, and gerrymandering as mandated by the Baker v. Carr (1962) decision

435 members in House of Representatives Representatives numbers are set by Congress according to the 1929 Reapportionment Act. Seats are apportioned- distributed among States based on respective populations

Each state is guaranteed at least one seat, no matter it’s population Representatives are chosen every second year-stated in Article I, Section 2, Clause 1 of Constitution No limit to number of terms Congress member may serve

Article 1 of the Constitution makes Congress reapportion seats in the House after each decennial census. Reapportion: redistribute the seats

The first census in 1790 showed an increase in population and in 1792, the Congress increased the number of House seats based on population from

1. It called for “automatic reapportionment” – the permanent size of the House is 435 members (today each seat represents about 750,000 people).

2. Following each Census, the Census Bureau determines the number of seats each State gets. 3. When the Bureau’s plan is ready, the President must send it to Congress. 4. If within 60 days of receiving it, neither House rejects the plan, it is effective.

1 st : Jack Kingston-R 2 nd :Sanford Bishop-D 3 rd :Lynn Westmoreland-R 4 th :Hank Johnson-D

5 th : John Lewis-D 6 th : Tom Price-R 7 th : John Linder-R 8 th :Jim Marshall-R

9 th :Nathan Deal-R 10 th :Paul Broun-R 11 th : Phil Gingrey-R 12 th :John Barrow-D 13 th :David Scott-D

Following the 2000 Census, Georgia’s first attempt at drawing the state senate was thrown out for systematically under populating the Democratic-held seats and systematically overpopulating the Republican-held seats throughout the state.

State legislatures must be apportioned according to population and that each person’s vote has roughly an equal weight.

A form of redistricting in which electoral district boundaries are manipulated for an electoral advantage. Coined from the Governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, who in 1812 drew the State’s legislative districts to favor the Democratic- Republicans.

Goal: to create as many “safe” districts as possible-districts almost certain to be won by the party in control of the line- drawing process. 1. to concentrate the opposition’s voters in one or a few districts, thus leaving the other districts comfortably safe for the dominant party

2. To spread the opposition as thinly as possible among several districts, limiting the opposition’s ability to win anywhere in the region

Changing of the electoral districts usually in response to periodic census results. This takes place by law or Constitution at least every decade to prevent geographic malapportionment