Congress (Redistricting / Gerrymandering)

Question 1

Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states.

Answer 1

The reassignment of the house seats based on the most recent US census. Its important to the states because it gives equal representation to the states

Question 2

Define congressional redistricting

Answer 2

redrawing of district lines by state legislatures at the beginning of each debate

Question 3

Explain 2 goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting

Answer 3

Packing: redrawing of districts so that you pack as many votes of one party in a few districts as possible
Cracking: taking a constituency that typically favors a particular party and splitting them among multiple districts

Question 4

Describe 2 limits that the United States Supreme Court has placed on Congressional redistricting

Answer 4

These are all but name 2:
- Equal Population – each district must have roughly equal populations (as of today, 710,000).

• Minority Representation – district lines cannot be drawn to hurt a minority group in society.
• Compact – districts must be “compact,” though the definition of compact is vague.
• Contiguous – districts must connect from one end to the other; a district cannot break up in the middle and reconnect elsewhere.