U.S. Congress: Reapportionment and Redistricting

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U.S. CongressReapportionment and Redistricting
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Congressional Reapportionment

• Apportionment
• Allocation of seats in the House to each state
  after the census
• Redistricting
• Redrawing of district boundaries by state
  legislatures
• One person, one vote

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Redistricting Controversies

• Gerrymandering
• A district altered by the dominant legislature
  party for its own electoral benefit
• Creation of Minority-Majority districts
• Districts drawn to maximize voting power of
  minority groups, giving minority voters the
  majority
• Challenged under equal protection clause
• As a result, several districts redrawn in 1990s

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Democrats Waive White Flag

• When Democrats controlled the reapportionment,
  they opted for safety for their incumbents
• Republicans put as many Democrats as possible
  into districts that already had Democratic
  congressmen

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2002 Election
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2002 ElectionsFailure By Democratic Leadership
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The New Democratic Leadership

• 108th Congress Democrats Elect Nancy Pelosi (CA)
  as head of House Democrats
• This marks shift in the liberal direction
• Democrats now criticizing Bush on economy and war