Category: Gerrymandering

In both houses members of congress are elected by a measure known as the direct popular vote, the process breaks down as follows, members of the senate are voted in through a statewide election, and house representatives are elected in the congressional district. The rule of how senators are elected is laid out in the…

Gerrymandering is the practice of dividing an area into political units which ultimately helps one political party (Merriam-Webster). However, these divisions are typically unfair and leave one political party at a disadvantage. The philosophy behind gerrymandering is to not give an overwhelming amount of safe seats to the person who is probable to win, but…

Single Member District Representation follows a set of rules that differentiates itself from multi-member districts and creates some advantages for being represented by one official. The first rule is that for every legislative district, there will be one representative. The second rule follows up on the first by stating that each district must be contiguous;…

Mark Twain once said, if voting made any difference, they wouldnt let us do it. The United States was conceived under the democratic ideology that the American people should have the authority and duty to elect their leader. Through the enactment of Article II Section 1, of the U.S constitution, the Executive Branch of the…

We discussed reapportionment and congressional redistricting in class. Patterson discusses them, as well. Why are reapportionment among the states and redistricting within states a problem for U.S. as a whole? What about their impact on individual House members? Discuss and explain. Reapportionment among states and redistricting is an issue given there is an urgent issue…