Determining House Districts The Intersection of Politics and “Creative” Drawing…

Part1: Determine the # of Reps in each state **To start off the process, we have to know the total population of the US…. - How would we determine the total population of the US? 1) Take a census of the US = about 293 million 1) Take a census of the US = about 293 million Once we know this number, we have our starting point…

Now we need to know how many people will be in each/every district We first must determine a “target” number of how many people per district on average We first must determine a “target” number of how many people per district on average How might we determine that “target” # (the # of people that would be in any/every district)? How might we determine that “target” # (the # of people that would be in any/every district)? 2) Divide the total population by the # of House seats

The Target # Average number of people in each district… Target # = 293,000,000 / 435 Target # = 293,000,000 / 435 Target # = About 670,000 people per district Target # = About 670,000 people per district

The number of districts per State Once we know average population of each district, we can then determine how many we should give to each state. Once we know average population of each district, we can then determine how many we should give to each state. 3) Divide the population of each state by the target # 3) Divide the population of each state by the target #

How many districts would PA get? PA pop. (13 million) / 670,000# = of PA districts What is the number? (you already know it…) What is the number? (you already know it…)

Handing out the seats Handing out the seats **At this point, the math is done and Congress distributes the seats to each state…. 4) Apportionment – distributing seats to each state based on answer to #3 4) Apportionment – distributing seats to each state based on answer to #3 **Every 10 years, seats are reapportioned according to changes in state populations As the population of the US increases generally, what happens to the “target #”? As the population of the US increases generally, what happens to the “target #”? Do you think the target # might ever get “too large”? Do you think the target # might ever get “too large”? What might have to happen then? What might have to happen then?

Part 2: Drawing New District Boundaries (if necessary) **State legislatures have the job of drawing boundaries for US House districts **State legislatures have the job of drawing boundaries for US House districts Both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature draw up a plan for district boundaries Both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature draw up a plan for district boundaries They will use census data, such as party affiliation, voting records, and race and religious data to help them. They will use census data, such as party affiliation, voting records, and race and religious data to help them. A vote is taken to approve a plan (maj plan wins) A vote is taken to approve a plan (maj plan wins)

The Basic Rules Because of abuses by states, the Supreme Court has ruled that when drawing districts, at least 2 rules must be followed: Because of abuses by states, the Supreme Court has ruled that when drawing districts, at least 2 rules must be followed: 1) Must be compact and contiguous All parts must touch, and it must be as geographically small as possible All parts must touch, and it must be as geographically small as possible 2) Must have about the same number of people All districts must be as nearly equal in population as possible All districts must be as nearly equal in population as possible