Gerrymandering The first “gerrymander” was drawn on a map and signed into law on February 11, 1812.  Elbridge Gerry, then governor of Massachusetts, signed into law a redistricting plan designed to keep his political party in power in the upcoming election. Upset that the Federalist Party was critical of James Madison’s foreign policy, Gerry signed the reapportioning plan that heavily favored his Republican party. The Republican legislators sponsoring and forcing through the bill redrew “voting lines so that the Federalist vote was concentrated in a few districts, while the Republican vote was spread over many.” The redistricting authorized by Gerry won 29 seats for the his Republican party, whereas the Federalists won only 11 seats.

Legislative Branch Gerrymandering

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 Done every 10 years Done by the state legislatures, must be signed by the governor Determines the size and shape of the district

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 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

NC Congressional Districts

NC Gerrymandering Jane Tim, “Democrats Eye Move Over GOP Gerrymandering in NC”. NBC News: September 4, 2019 Read the article located in Google Classroom and submit answers to the questions provided.

Terms of Congress 535 is the total membership in the U.S. Congress. Bicameral Legislature: 100 Senators, 435 Members of the House of Representatives The framers intended to make the Legislative branch more powerful than any other branch. Each term of congress begins on January 3rd of odd numbered years. Each term is given a number to identify it The Congress currently in session is the 116th Begin January 3, 2019, and will end on January 3, 2021

Sessions of Congress Typical sessions are from January until November or December. Congress may also meet in times of crisis A joint session is when both houses of Congress meet; this usually occurs when the President gives his yearly State of the Union address.

House of Representatives 435 voting members allotted to the states according to population every 10 years a census, or population count taken by the Census Bureau, adjusts the number of representatives given to each state each state is divided into congressional districts

Congress continued What congressional district do we live in? Well if you live in Wake Forest it is the 13th district. the boundaries are drawn by the state legislatures and must be roughly equal in the number of people, or constituents, in each district Sometimes gerrymandering may occur, which is when a district is drawn or shaped for political reasons. For example, if most a of a state’s representatives are Democratic, they might draw the lines so that as many districts as possible have more Democratic voters than Republican voters. The members of the House of Representatives are closer to their district constituents than the Senate

The Senate Each senator represents his or her state’s interests Senators serve six- year terms but elections are staggered so that no more than one-third of the senators are up for reelection at any one time.

Congressional Leaders Majority and Minority Parties The party that has more than half of the members is know as the majority party The remaining party is the minority party The House of Representatives is lead by the Democratic Party 235 Democrats, 198 Republicans, 1 Independent, 1 Vacancy The US Senate is lead by the Republican Party 53 Republican, 45 Democrats, 2 Independents

Leadership in the House of Representatives The Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D) California 12 District The members of the majority party meet in a caucus, or closed meeting to choose the speaker. The entire membership of the House then approves the choice The Speaker is the most powerful person within the H.O.R. The Speaker steers legislation, is in charge of house debates, and is third in line in the presidential succession

Leadership in the Senate the presiding officer is the Vice President of the United States and is called the President of the senate Mike Pence, VP The president pro tempore, which means “for the time being” is the ceremonial leader Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa The floor leaders are the most powerful leaders in the senate

Leadership continued The floor leaders make sure that the laws Congress passes are in the best interest of their party. Majority Floor Leader/Minority Floor Leader they speak for their parties push bills along try to sway votes Senate Majority Leader/Minority Leader House Majority Leader/Minority Leader Party whips help the floor leaders round up votes and report to the floor leader where things stand Senate Majority Whip/Minority Whip House Majority Whip/Minority Whip

Committees: Little Legislatures Types of Committees Permanent committees are called standing committees. the senate has 17 standing committees the house has 19 standing committees the standing committees cover things like education, veteran affairs, and commerce select committees are created to do a special job for example in 1976 the House formed the Select committee on Assassinations to investigate the assassinations of J.F.K. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when the work is done in select committees they are disbanded

Joint committees/conference committees include members from both houses deal with taxation, printing, economics, and the library of Congress Conference committee a conference committee helps both houses of Congress agree on details of a proposed law

Committee Assignments Representatives and Senators want to be on committees that affect their districts and states For example, a representative from a district that is a farm area might want to serve on a agriculture committee Seniority the leaders of political parties make committee assignments they look at expertise, seniority, and members’ preferences, and loyalty to the party

Chairperson of the committees the chairperson of the committee is normally the person who has the most seniority the chairperson is one of the most powerful positions in Congress because he or she will decides when and if a bill will be studied, when a committee will meet and who will serve on a subcommittee

Powers of Congress Expressed Powers- These are powers granted to the Congress in Article I of the U.S. Constitution. Powers denied to the Congress are things that the Congress cannot do. For example: Deny us our writ of habeas corpus Create ex post facto laws Create bill of attainders

Non-legislative powers Impeachment process- this is when the HOR brings articles of impeachment against an elected official. This is when you accuse an official of misconduct. Approval/Rejection of presidential nominees

The job……. What do the members of Congress do all day? Two jobs: Casework Legislative work

Possibility of Impeachment Nancy Pelosi speech on Formal Impeachment Inquiry, 9/24 whistleblower: a person who exposes any kind of information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization that is either private or public Answer the following questions as you listen: What principles of the Constitution does Pelosi address? How? How does Pelosi use the work of Congressional Committees within her address? How effectively does Pelosi argue the need for an impeachment inquiry? What is that argument?

Congressional Committees Worksheet Complete the worksheet provided on Committees

Homework See Board