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DAY 6 – DISTRICTING IN THE HOUSE (CONT’D.)
July 3, 2013
Announcements
Fill out survey on which state you prefer to study in your legislative portfolio. https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=
SV_0TdRZTfxQqVeU3r Current Events Essay #1 due on TUESDAY.
Look over rubric and sample essay in Assignments folder. Check with me if you have questions about the article you
selected. Article should focus on topics we’ve covered in the course.
Elections Institutionalization Concepts of Representation and Responsiveness
Results If Plan Were Adopted Nationwide
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/republican-vote-rigging-electoral-college_n_2546010.htmlPennsylvania Breakdown - http://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/#/President/2012/PA
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/11/07/1159631/americans-voted-for-a-democratic-house-gerrymandering-the-supreme-court-gave-them-speaker-boehner/
http://www.publicmapping.org/redistricting-forecast
Gerrymandering
District line-drawing that purposefully maximizes seats for one party or voting bloc.
Types of gerrymandering Partisan Pro-Incumbent Majority-minority
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RtKwhd60Q8
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?
http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/since-1982-minority-congressional-districts-have-tripled-graphic-20120413
North Carolina 4th District
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/NC/4
Maryland 3rd
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MD/3
Texas 27th
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/TX/27
Texas 23rd
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/TX/23
John Sides – “Gerrymandering is not what’s wrong with American politics”
Why should both of these lines slope downwards?
Sides - Gerrymandering
Abramowitz et al. (2006)
Test three hypotheses to explain the decline of competition in U.S. House races Redistricting
Hypothesis Partisan
Polarization Hypothesis
Incumbency Hypothesis
Conclusions
Declining competition explained by: A shift in the partisan
composition of House districts. But most of the change
is occurring between redistricting cycles.
Decline in ability of challengers to compete financially.
NOTE: Challengers classified as financially competitive if they accounted for at least 40 percent of combined challenger and incumbent spending. High-risk districts are those in which vote percentage of vote for presidential candidate of incumbent’s party is less than national percentage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrvpZxMfKaU
Happy Independence Day!