2. Midterm Elections Congress House of Representatives Senate 435 members 2 year term local districts 100 members 6 year term state

3. Powers Congress House of Representatives Senate Impeach federal officals Originates all revenue raising bills Convict federal officals for impeachable offenses Advise and Consent role on presidential powers

4. Reapportionment Up through 1910 census, size of the House membership expanded as the population expanded 1911 Congress capped the membership at 435, so since 1920 census Congress must reapportion seats among the states to reflect shifts in population growth rates

5. Redistricting Redrawing legislative districts within states to reflect population shifts and reapportionment results Occurs every 10 years, after the decennial census Next census is 2010 Districts are drawn according to state government plans (some states use the legislature, some use special “commissions”

6. Gerrymander Drawing congressional districts for partisan advantage

7. Gerrymander Packing 1 2 3 4

8. Gerrymander Cracking 1 2 3 4

9. Redistricting Since the 1960s though, districts are required to contain roughly the same number of people –Baker v. Carr (1964) –Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) –Drawing gerrymandered districts is more difficult now than it was, but it can still be doneDrawing

10. Elections Impact of districting: –fewer “competitive” seats –higher re-election rates for incumbentshigher re-election rates –86% in House in 2010 –86% in Senate in 2010* *depending on the Alaska vote

11. Elections Other factors contributing to incumbent advantage: –Fundraising Check the Center for Responsive Politics website for the spending differentials among challengers and incumbentsCenter for Responsive Politics http://www.opensecrets.org/races/index.asp

12. Elections Other factors contributing to incumbent advantage –Name recognition among electorate –Easier access to media –Easier access to electorate “franking” privilege

13. Useful Links Overview of the Legislative Process: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.htmlOverview of the Legislative Process Rules of the 110th Congress (House) http://www.rules.house.gov/ruleprec/house_rules.htmRules of the 110th Congress Process in the Senate Legislative http://thomas.loc.gov/home/enactment/enactlawtoc.htmlProcess in the Senate Legislative