Gerrymandering Manipulation of District Lines (for House seats) for political purposes

Mr. Gerry of Gerrymandering

Apportionment •Occurs every 10 years, after the Census •Constitution: ▫Seats “be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers”

Why redraw the lines? •After the census, lines are redrawn •States can gain, lose, or keep the same amount of seats •To provide equal representation

Cracking District lines drawn so that the minority population is broken up Members of the minority are spread among as many districts as possible, keeping them a minority in every district Done to prevent strength in the district

Packing Drawing district boundary lines so that the members of the minority are concentrated, or "packed," into as few districts as possible Become supermajority and have “wasted” votes

Did you know? •435 seats is NOT a Constitutional requirement. •50 seats are required ▫Currently, the remaining 385 seats to be divided by population

Other requirements •Must follow idea of “one person-one vote rule” •Lines must be continuous •“Equal chance”

Time for you to create your own Gerrymandered state!