GOVT 312: Parties and Campaigns

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GOVT 312 Parties and Campaigns

• Lecture 11 Redistricting

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Redistricting The Gerry-mander
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The Perfect District
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The Perfectly Ugly District
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Why Redistrict?

• Reapportionment ? Redistricting
• 1962 Baker v Carr districts are justicable
• 1964 Wesberry v Sanders, Reynolds v Sims
  equal population required
• CT districts Smallest 261 Largest 177,000
• 1983 Karcher v Daggett Equal Means Equal
• Congressional Zero Population Deviation
• State Legislative lt10 Deviation (depend on
  state law)
• New census means new districts

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Gerrymandering

• Definition Strategically grouping voters to
  affect a political end.
• Bizzare shape is evidence for a gerrymander,
  but a beautiful district is not evidence for a
  lack of intent to gerrymander.
• Any map helps someone or some group at anothers
  expense

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Types of Gerrymanders

• Partisan Win Seats
• Incumbent/Bi-Partisan Win Reelection
• Racial Elect Candidates of Choice
• Neutral Criteria Contiguity, Compactness,
  Communities of Interest, Existing Boundaries

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Partisan vs. Incumbent Gerrymandering
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Is this a Gerrymander?
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Racial Gerrymandering and the Voting Rights Act

• Section 2 Gingles Test
• Minority Population Large Enough
• Minority Population Geographically Compact
• Presence of Racially Polarized Voting
• Section 5 Preclearance

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Voting Rights Act 5 Preclearance
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Election Administration Decentralized (including
redistricting)

• Article I, Section 4
• The Times, Places and Manner of holding
  Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall
  be prescribed in each State by the Legislature
  thereof but the Congress may at any time by Law
  make or alter such Regulations, except as to the
  Places of chusing Senators.

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Redistricting ProcessesU.S. House of
Representatives
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Redistricting ProcessesState Legislative
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Reform Efforts

• Reform Commission
• Select members using a nonpartisan process
• Draw districts using neutral criteria
• Open process
• Public input
• Roadblocks
• Reform often needs legislative approval to send
  to ballot for constitution amendment
• Voters not prone to approve because of complexity
• Reforms are not neutral to future outcomes.