Chapter Two (N&T) Flashcards
How is the representation in the US House of Representatives determined?
the decennial census of the population of the US and, in states awarded more than one US representative, the drawing of congressional district boundaries.
How is the allocation of House seats determined?
based on the population in those states
What is the reapportionment process?
reallocates seats from states that have lost population or grew slowly during the previous decade to states that saw larger growth in population. And even states that do not lose or gain seats following reapportionment must redraw district lines.
What did Vieth v Jubelirer (2004) rule?
In a split decision that had no majority opinion, the Court decided not to intervene in this case because no appropriate judicial solution could be found.ustice Antonin Scalia, for a four-member plurality, wrote that the Court should declare all claims related to political (but not racial) gerrymandering nonjusticiable, meaning that courts could not hear them. Because no court had been able to find an appropriate remedy to political gerrymandering claims in the 18 years since the Court decided Davis v. Bandemer, 478 U.S. 109, which had held that such a remedy had not been found yet but might exist, Scalia wrote that it was time to recognize that the solution simply did not exist.
What are the requirements for a district?
They need to be equal in population size, to not adversely affect minority voters, and to contain no more than one representative per district.
Three “traditional distracting principles” also recognized by SCOTUS:
Districts should be compact (i.e. parts of the district should not be far flung).
Should have contiguous boundaries
Should preserve political subdivisions such as towns, cities, and counties.
What does “packing” mean and what does it do?
It puts as many of the opposing party’s voters as possible in as few districts as possible. As a result, the opposing party will win a minimal number of districts but will win them by very large margins.
What does “cracking” mean and what does it do?
It takes a geographical area where many of the opposing party’s voters reside and splits that area into multiple districts, making the opposition’s voters the minority in each of the districts.
