Gerrymandering Voting and Elections

How many seats does each state send to the HR?                                                                              How many seats does each state send to the HR? 435 seats are apportioned (divided up) among the 50 states Every state must get at least 1 rep

Reapportionment Done every 10 years Based on the population count (census) Decided by the House of Reps Determines the number of House seats a state gets Number is frozen at 435 due to Congressional Act 1929

REdistricting State legislatures divide the state into districts (one section that elects 1 person to HR) Signed by Governor Rules to follow: Equal numbers of people in each district Contiguous (or connected) http://www.redistrictinggame.com/ Maxine Waters, Representative for California Congressional District #35

Gerrymandering Helps political parties gain seats in the House of Reps Definition: to draw a district’s boundaries to gain an advantage in elections Named for Elbridge Gerry

Types of Gerrymandering Partisan Gerrymander: When the majority party draws the district lines to maximize the power of their own party. Racial Gerrymander: When districts are drawn to either minimize or maximize the power of minority voters

Two Types Packing: Putting as many members of one party into one district to limit the amount of seats they win Cracking: Splitting voters of the opposing party into two different districts

Gerrymandering Techniques Hijacking: Separating an incumbent candidate from his constituents and placing him/her in a district where he/she has no name recognition. Kidnapping: Drawing two incumbent candidates into the same district so they must run against each other.

Gerrymandering Example Diagram Left: Four districts of even “Red” and “Green” party voters, 8 from each party. Right: Redrawing the balanced electoral districts in this example creates only one packed district of 14 green voters. The remaining 18 green voters are cracked across the 3 other districts. The result is a 3-to-1 advantage for the “Red” party.

Gerrymandering Effects The effects of gerrymandering can be detrimental to the democratic process Gerrymandered districts favor incumbents that are difficult to unseat in elections, thus creating safe seats. Safe districts with incumbents with less incentive to govern by constituents’ needs Proportional or descriptive representation is then altered Meaningful campaigns are also influenced, further demoralizing voters. In the 2002 election, only four incumbents in the US Congress were defeated, the lowest number in history. This was in part due to redistricting and gerrymandering by incumbents.

The Effects of Gerrymandering "Here is a telling statistic: 153 of California's congressional and legislative seats were up in the last election and not one changed parties. What kind of democracy is that?” Governor Arnold Schwargenegger, 2005 State of the State Address

Effects of Gerrymandering "It used to be that the idea was, once every two years voters elected their representatives, and now, instead, it's every ten years the representatives choose their constituents.” - Pamela Karlan, Professor of Public Interest Law at Stanford Law School

Gerrymandering Example: Arizona's 2nd congressional district The unusual division was not drawn to favor politicians, but to separate the Hopi and the Navajo tribes, due to historic tensions. Since the Hopi reservation is completely surrounded by the Navajo reservation, and in order to comply with current Arizona redistricting laws, some means of connection was required that avoided including large portions of Navajo land, hence the narrow Colorado River connection.

Gerrymandering Example: Texas’s 22nd congressional district This district was the result of redistricting in 2003, when Texas congress had become republican, the first time since Reconstruction This mid-decade redistricting resulted in six additional seats in US congress

Gerrymandering Example: California’s 38th congressional district District 38 was produced by California's incumbent gerrymandering, as home to democrat Grace Flores Napolitano, who ran unopposed in 2004

Gerrymandering Example: Illinois’s 4th congressional district The unusual "earmuff" shape connects two Hispanic neighborhoods while remaining contiguous by following Interstate 294.

Supreme Court Cases Baker v Carr Wesberry v Sanders Reynolds v Sims Shaw v Reno League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry