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!