Electoral Geography:Electoral Geography:Gerrymandering,Gerrymandering,Voter Turnout, Voter Turnout,

Historical ResultsHistorical Results(Changing Boundaries)(Changing Boundaries)

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Printed in 1812, this political cartoon illustrates the electoral districts drawn by the Massachusetts legislature to favor the incumbent Democratic-Republican party candidates of Governor Elbridge Gerry over the Federalists. The cartoon depicts the bizarre shape of one district as a salamander, from which the term gerrymander is derived.

Gerrymandering is the process of manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency so as to favor one political party over another.

ReapportionmentReapportionment Every ten years, a census is taken in the United States Every ten years, a census is taken in the United States

(other countries may use another time frame). This census (other countries may use another time frame). This census determines representation in the House of Representatives determines representation in the House of Representatives here in the U.S. We have 14 congressional districts in GA. here in the U.S. We have 14 congressional districts in GA. That number increased in 2010 on the basis of population That number increased in 2010 on the basis of population change. There are 435 seats in the House of change. There are 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Those seats are divided among the 50 Representatives. Those seats are divided among the 50 states. If states lose seats, other states gain them on states. If states lose seats, other states gain them on population distribution. population distribution.

There are two principal strategies behind gerrymandering: maximizing the effective votes of supporters, and minimizing the effective votes of opponents. Forms of Gerrymandering:1)Packing-is to place as many voters of one type into a single district to reduce their influence in other districts. 2)Cracking-involves spreading out voters of a particular type among many districts in order to reduce their representation by denying them a sufficiently large voting block in any particular district. The methods are typically combined, creating a few "forfeit" seats for packed voters of one type in order to secure even greater representation for voters of another type.

Redrawing the balanced electoral districts in this example creates a guaranteed 3-to-1 advantage in representation for the blue voters as 14 red voters are packed into the yellow district and the remaining 18 are cracked across the 3 blue

districts.

Gerrymandering is effective because of the wasted vote effect - by packing opposition voters into districts they will already win (increasing excess votes for winners) and by cracking the remainder among districts where they are moved into the minority (increasing votes for eventual losers), the number of wasted votes among the opposition can be maximized. Similarly, with supporters now holding narrow margins in the unpacked districts, the number of wasted votes among supporters is minimized.

Reduction in electoral competition, voter turnout and less descriptive representation

Packed districts become less competitive. Therefore, voter turnout is reduced as voters feel as though they have less of a “say-so” in election results. Winners of elections are often determined by those who drew/designed the districts.

Incumbent gerrymandering

Carved out with the aid of a computer, this congressional district was the product of California's incumbent gerrymandering. This is the district of Democrat Grace Flores Napolitano, who ran unopposed in 2004, obtaining 100 percent of the vote.

Proposed reforms targeting gerrymandering

a) Independent, objective commission determines legislative districts.

b) Cross-party legislative body c) Straight proportional representation (making

all votes count)

Where is proportional representation currently in use?

ALGERIA, ANGOLA, ARGENTINA, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, BENIN, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, BRAZIL, BULGARIA, BURKINA FASO, BURUNDI, CAMBODIA, CAPE VERDE, CHILE, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, CYPRUS, CZECH REPUBLIC, DENMARK, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, ERITREA, ESTONIA, FINLAND, GREECE, GUINEA-BISSAU, GUYANA, ICELAND, INDONESIA, ISRAEL, LATVIA, LIBERIA, LIECHTENSTEIN, LUXEMBOURG, MOLDOVA, REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE, NAMIBIA, NETHERLANDS, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES, NEW CALEDONIA, NICARAGUA, NORWAY, PARAGUAY, PERU, POLAND, PORTUGAL, ROMANIA, SAN MARINO, SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE, SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA, SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN, SRI LANKA, SURINAME, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, SERBIA, TURKEY, URUGUAY.

After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s. This issue has been much studied, but scholars are divided on what has caused it, with a wide array of economic, demographic, cultural, technological, and institutional factors proposed as the cause of this decline.

Voter TurnoutVoter Turnout

Voters lining up outside a Baghdad polling station during the 2005 Iraqi election. Voter turnout was surprisingly high despite widespread concerns of violent attacks on polling places.

Voter TurnoutVoter Turnout There can also be regional differences in voter

turnout. One issue that arises in continent-spanning nations, such as Canada, the United States and Russia, is that of time zones. For example, for voters in the western part of the United States, national elections have often been essentially decided well before polls close in their region. This potentially depresses turnout on the Pacific coast. Canada has partially resolved this problem by banning the broadcasting of election results in any region where the polls have not yet closed.

Voter Turnout – Voter Turnout – A.Cultural FactorsA.Cultural Factors

Wealth and literacy have some effect on turnout, but are not reliable measures. Countries such as Angola and Ethiopia have long had high turnouts, but so have the wealthy states of Europe. The United Nations Human Development Index shows some correlation between higher standards of living and higher turnout. The age of a democracy is also an important factor. Elections require considerable involvement by the population, and it takes some time to develop the cultural habit of voting, and the associated understanding of and confidence in the electoral process. This factor may explain the lower turnouts in the newer democracies of Eastern Europe and Latin America. Much of the impetus to vote comes from a sense of civic duty, which takes time and certain social conditions to develop. G. Bingham Powell lists four major attitudes that have a strongly positive effect on voter turnout, attitudes that can take decades to develop:

•1) trust in government•2) degree of partisanship among the population •3) interest in politics•4) belief in the efficacy of voting

Voter TurnoutVoter TurnoutB. DemographicsB. Demographics

• Older people tend to vote more than youths (Italy)

• Mobile populations tend to vote more

• Lower marriage rates have less turn out.

• In countries that are highly multicultural and multilingual, it can be difficult for national election campaigns to engage all sectors of the population.

Compulsory Voting - AustraliaCompulsory Voting - Australia Australians have been required to vote in federal elections since

1924. Concerned that voter turnout had dipped below 60 percent, parliament enacted mandatory voting after only 90 minutes of debate, and it's gone largely unchallenged ever since. Polls regularly show 70 percent to 80 percent of Australians support mandatory voting.

Lisa Hill, a research fellow at the University of Adelaide, explains it this way: "We're quite happy with some forms of coercion that others may not be happy with."

Compulsory VotingCompulsory Voting

Compulsory VotingCompulsory Voting Actually, the voting part of "mandatory voting" is a

misnomer. All Australian citizens over the age of 18 must register and show up at a polling station, but they need not actually vote. They can deface their ballot or write in Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (Australia's version of Lassie)—or do nothing at all.

What happens if you don't show up on Election Day? You'll receive a fairly polite form letter. At this point, you can settle the matter by paying a $15 fine or offering any number of excuses, including illness (no note from your doctor required), travel, religious objections, or just plain forgetfulness. For most people, the matter ends here. In most elections, about a half-million registered voters don't come to the polls. Ninety-five percent of them offer a valid excuse, and the matter ends there. Five percent pay a fine.

Compulsory VotingCompulsory Voting A few hundred cases each election actually end up in court.

Those who refuse to pay the fine or offer a plausible excuse face escalating threats, similar to the ones you receive from American Express when your balance is past due. The fine jumps to $37 and, in extreme cases, a brief prison sentence is imposed. But the Australian government clearly doesn't want to imprison a lot of its citizens for not voting. I've been able to find only a few cases of Aussies going to jail over this in the past few decades—all conscientious objectors courting arrest. A significant percentage of Australians—about 15 percent of them—don't bother to register at all. The government doesn't go after these people, reserving fines and prosecutions only for those who register and don't show up on Election Day. (Australia's 80-plus percent registration rate is very high compared to other democracies.)

Australia: Arguments used in favor of compulsory voting:

• Voting is a civic duty comparable to other duties citizens perform (e.g. taxation, compulsory education, or jury duty).

• Parliament reflects more accurately the "will of the electorate."

• Governments must consider the total electorate in policy formulation and management.

• Candidates can concentrate their campaigning energies on issues rather than encouraging voters to attend the poll.

• The voter isn’t actually compelled to vote for anyone because voting is by secret ballot.

Australia: Arguments used against compulsory voting:

a) It is undemocratic to force people to vote - an infringement of liberty.

b) The "ignorant" and those with little interest in politics are forced to the polls.

c) It may increase the number of "donkey votes" (bad votes that don't get counted).

d) It may increase the number of informal votes (ballot papers which are not marked according to the rules for voting).

e) It increases the number of safe, single-member electorates - political parties then concentrate on the more marginal electorates.

f) Resources must be allocated to determine whether those who failed to vote have "valid and sufficient" reasons.

Examples of Bushmanders!Examples of Bushmanders!

Bullwinkle • (New York's 12th; Hispanic majority)

Pair of Ear Muffs • (Illinois's 4th; Hispanic majority)

Mark of Zorro • (Louisiana's 4th; black majority)

SatireSatire

Man peers under locked ballot box

Date: 2005-03-31 Artist: Dale Cummings

Post-election America is red, white, black and blue

Date: 2004-11-03 Artist: JD Crowe

Bush vs. Gore 2000Bush vs. Gore 2000

In this map and the following series of maps, the color Blue represents the Republicans and the color Red the Democrats.

Bush vs. Gore 2000Bush vs. Gore 2000

http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/index.html

Florida 2000Florida 2000

http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/index.html

Florida 2000Florida 2000 Presidential Candidate; Vice Presidential Candidate; Party Presidential Candidate; Vice Presidential Candidate; Party

Popular Vote; Electoral Vote Popular Vote; Electoral Vote

George W. Bush Richard Cheney Republican 2,912,790 George W. Bush Richard Cheney Republican 2,912,790 48.85% 25 Electoral College Votes48.85% 25 Electoral College Votes

Albert Gore Jr. Joseph Lieberman Democratic 2,912,253 Albert Gore Jr. Joseph Lieberman Democratic 2,912,253 48.84% 0 Electoral College Votes48.84% 0 Electoral College Votes

Ralph Nader Winona LaDuke Green 97,488 1.63% 0 Ralph Nader Winona LaDuke Green 97,488 1.63% 0 Patrick Buchanan Ezola Foster Reform 17,484 0.29% 0 Patrick Buchanan Ezola Foster Reform 17,484 0.29% 0 Harry Browne Art Olivier Libertarian 16,415 0.28% 0 Harry Browne Art Olivier Libertarian 16,415 0.28% 0 Other (+) - - 6,680 0.11% 0 Other (+) - - 6,680 0.11% 0

Bush vs. Kerry 2004Bush vs. Kerry 2004

Bush vs. Kerry 2004Bush vs. Kerry 2004

http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/index.html

Obama vs. Romney 2012Obama vs. Romney 2012Congressional Districts=Electoral College VotesCongressional Districts=Electoral College Votes