The document discusses various topics related to redistricting and apportionment in the US House of Representatives, including: - The Voting Rights Act ruling that eliminated preclearance requirements for some states. - Constitutional qualifications to hold office and debates over residency requirements. - Malapportionment of representation in the Senate and trends in population shifts favoring the West and Sun Belt. - The method used for apportioning House seats and debates over sizes and districting, including the rise of majority-minority districts. - Types of gerrymandering like partisan and pro-incumbent gerrymandering.

1. DAY 5 – CRACKING AND
PACKING – DISTRICTING
IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
July 2, 2013

2. Announcements
 Tomorrow‟s readings
 Read Sides‟ “Gerrymandering is not what‟s wrong
with American Politics”
 DO NOT READ Abramowitz et al.
 I will send out a poll this afternoon for you to
rank order your preferences for the legislative
portfolio project.
 Let me know if you are going to pair up with
someone.
 Let me know your top 5 states.
 I will use a sophisticated algorithm to assign a
state to your group.

3. In the News - VRA Ruling
 What is the Voting Rights Act?
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpI1YuyMCKY
 House vote - http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/h87
 What did the courts rule on?
 http://www.oyez.org/cases/2010-2019/2012/2012_12_96
 “Section 4 of the VRA creates a formula that determines what states should
be subject to Section 5, which requires states to submit any changes to
election or voting laws, alterations of state legislative or congressional district
lines, to the Justice Dept. for Approval. (That process is commonly known
as pre-clearance.) That formula was – until today – based on a) states that
had used some form of ballot test (literacy being the main one) to determine
whether people can vote and b) whether less than 50 percent of eligible
voters were registered to vote by November 1964.”
 Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/06/25/what-the-
voting-rights-act-decision-means-for-politics/
 Are people paying attention to this ruling (and others)?
 Not really.
 http://www.people-press.org/2013/07/01/public-divided-over-same-sex-marriage-
rulings/

4. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/06/25/what-the-voting-rights-act-decision-means-for-politics/

5. Constitutional Qualifications for
Holding Office
 Age (25 for House, 30 for Senate)
 Citizenship (7 years for House, 9 years for
Senate)
 Residency (In the state from which the
officeholder is elected)
 Can states add to these qualifications?
 U.S. Term Limits versus Thornton
 http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-
1999/1994/1994_93_1456#sort=vote
 Do representatives have to live in their district?
 No. Morgan Griffith “Residency” ad -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmqPvjecs-A

6. Senate Apportionment
 “One of the most malapportioned legislatures
in the democratic world.”
 9 largest states – 51% of population
 18% of representation in Senate
 26 smallest states – 18% of population
 52% of representation

7. House Apportionment
 The Method of Equal Proportions
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUCnb5_H
Zc0
 2010 Census
 http://www.census.gov/population/apportionment/f
iles/Priority%20Values%202010.pdf
 Last in – Minnesota (8)
 First out – North Carolina
 Would have earned a 14th seat in Congress if they had
15,734 more residents.

8. Size of Congress Over Time
 Congress could
not agree on an
apportionment
strategy after
1920 census.
 Self-interest
 Practical
Concerns
 Reapportionment
Act of 1929 locks
Congressional
size at 435
Data collected from U.S. Census Bure

9. Geographic Trends
 Apportionment Over
Time
 http://www.census.g
ov/2010census/data
/
 Continued
population decline
in Northeast and
Midwest.
 Population growth
in the West and
Sun Belt
Data collected from U.S. Census Burea

10. Data collected from U.S. Census Bureau

11. Districting in the House
 Voting Rights Act of 1965
 Requires states to not dilute the representation of
racial minorities.
 Single-member districts
 1967 law (PL 90-196) prohibited at-large and
other multi-member elections by states with more
than one House seat.
 Only affected 2 states – HI and NM
 Anticipated a concern that southern states might move
to this strategy.
 http://archive.fairvote.org/?page=526

12. Malapportionment
 “The silent gerrymander”
 Motivated by:
 Racism
 Rural bias
 Reynolds v. Sims (1964)
 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/land
mark_reynolds.html

13. 2012 Electoral Map
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/republican-vote-rigging-electoral-college_n_2546010.html

14. Electoral College Reform
 Nebraska and Maine
 Winner of state‟s popular vote gets 2 electoral votes.
 Winner gets 1 electoral vote per Congressional district
won.

15. Seats Gained Under New Plan
Romney Gains Obama Gains
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/republican-vote-rigging-electoral-college_n_2546010.html

16. Results If Plan Were Adopted
Nationwide
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/republican-vote-rigging-electoral-college_n_2546010.html

17. Gerrymandering
 District line-drawing
that purposefully
maximizes seats for
one party or voting
bloc.
 Types of
gerrymandering
 Partisan
 Pro-Incumbent
 Majority-minority

18. Majority-Minority Districts
 Before VRA, “blacks were systematically
„packed‟ into or „cracked‟ across congressional
districts to weaken their influence” (DOL p.53)
 What are the pros and cons of majority-
minority districts?
 How have the courts ruled?

19. http://www.nationaljournal.co
m/congress/since-1982-
minority-congressional-
districts-have-tripled-graphic-
20120413

20. North Carolina 4th District
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/NC/4

21. Maryland 3rd
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MD/3

22. Texas 27th
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/TX/27

23. Texas 23rd
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/TX/23