R Constituenci= es
Wed= nesday, March 04, 2009
12:= 00 PM
District a mem= ber represents
Both the area and its population
House frozen a= t 435 since 1910
Each district now covers ~650,000 people
Some districts are only a few square miles (Manhattan) while others are the enti= re state of Wyoming
Each district must be about equal in population
Districts reas= signed if population shifts in the census
Redistricting - redrawing the border lines within states
A very political process for state legislators
Shapes drawn weirdly to favor a particular group gerrymander
Before the 1960s - States did not want to redistrict
Gave much more power to rural areas
Supreme Court forced them to redistrict in Baker vs Carr
Controversial in the 60s
But the 1 person, 1 vote concept became accepted
Today it’s a very important political process
Race can be used - but not be the majority factor
And census undercounts mostly black voters
R Constituenci= es
Wed= nesday, March 04, 2009
12:= 00 PM
District a mem= ber represents
Both the area and its population
House frozen a= t 435 since 1910
Each district now covers ~650,000 people
Some districts are only a few square miles (Manhattan) while others are the enti= re state of Wyoming
Each district must be about equal in population
Districts reas= signed if population shifts in the census
Redistricting - redrawing the border lines within states
A very political process for state legislators
Shapes drawn weirdly to favor a particular group gerrymander
Before the 1960s - States did not want to redistrict
Gave much more power to rural areas
Supreme Court forced them to redistrict in Baker vs Carr
Controversial in the 60s
But the 1 person, 1 vote concept became accepted
Today it’s a very important political process
Race can be used - but not be the majority factor
And census undercounts mostly black voters