Governing States and Electoral Geography Objective: Identify how the governments of states are organized. Explain the concept and effects of gerrymandering.

More Important Vocab Words Use your textbook/reading guide/notecards/others at your table to define the following: Table 1 – Unitary State Table 2 – Federal State Table 3 – Gerrymandering Table 4 – Wasted vote gerrymandering Table 5 – Excess vote gerrymandering Table 6 – Stacked vote gerrymandering

Unitary State Places most power in the hands of the central government officials Requires effective communication with all regions of the country Especially common in Europe

Federal State Strong power allocated to units of local governments within the state Local governments possess authority to adopt their own laws Boundaries can be drawn to correspond with regions inhabited by different ethnicities Useful in multinational states Ex. Russia, Canada, US, Brazil, India, Belgium

Gerrymandering The boundaries separating legislative districts within the US are redrawn periodically to ensure that each district has approximately the same population (reapportionment, happens after census is taken) “Redistricting for advantage”, redistricting to benefit the party in power

Wasted Vote Gerrymandering Turn to page 284 in your textbook Spreads opposition supporters across many districts but in the minority Even though opposition is present in each district, they are always outnumbered and will never win the district

Excess Vote Gerrymandering Concentrates opposition supporters into a few districts Oppositions supporters will win the districts that they are concentrated in but, overall, it will not be enough to win the state

Stacked Vote Gerrymandering Links distant areas of like-minded votes through oddly shaped boundaries Has been especially attractive for creating districts inclined to elect ethnic minorities

Gerrymandering Activity On the paper you receive, follow the directions to gerrymander your state for the given type of gerrymandering listed. On the back of the paper, reflect on the process to create districts in the way you were asked. Explain which groups have the advantage/disadvantage. What is your personal reaction to gerrymandering? What should be done to address the issue of gerrymandering?