Most people believe that the outcome of elections in Texas is decided by the voters, but in our current single-member district system of electing representatives, frequently that is not the case. Often times who will win in an election is decided long before election day, usually by those who draw the district lines. For example, if the districts in texas are drawn to be 65 percent republican then the outcome will most likely result in republicans that have the majority of seats in the legislature. In a single member district system, only one member can be elected to congress for each district, that is why drawing the district lines is by far one of the most important aspects for a party to win seats. The parties assure their representatives…
Partisan Gerrymandering is the process legislators go to though, by either drawing or changing district boundaries, to make sure one political party has an advantage when it comes to the outcome of an election. This takes away the whole point of being a democratic country where people have the freedom to choose their own government, and representation. Because elections are rigged and peoples votes don't count, legislators makeup district boundaries that only benefit them, and most importantly keep a party chosen by them and only them in a secure route to WIN, without caring about what the voters actually want. Making partisan gerrymandering a big threat to democracy because instead of having the people choose, politicians are choosing for them. Since legislators draw the district…
The process of gerrymandering started in 1788, before Congress even existed. Henry drew the fifth congressional district in Virginia to include as many Anti-Federalists as possible. However, Henry didn’t have the resources to prevent Madison, his opponent, from beating him. Today, Henry would have been able to ensure victory because of detailed census results and voter tallies. Political parties use two specific techniques to gerrymander which are “packing” and “cracking” districts.…
So to make it fair each state has equal power the number of representatives in the house is determined by the population of that states. So for the larger states like California we would have more representatives than…
In the United States reapportionment and redistricting are both processes for deciding voting lines. Reapportionment is the process of reassessing the amount of congressional house seats for each state. Reapportionment is conducted through a census. This takes place every ten years, during which every person, citizen or not, is counted in each state. The process also decides the amount of votes each state gets for the electoral College.…
Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted politicians often engage in gerrymandering. Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states. Congressional reapportionment is when there is a change in the amount of seats in the House of Representatives after the United States Census, or decennial census.…
Term Limits There have been many proposals to reform Congress in order to increase its effectiveness, reliability, and accountability. One of these proposals include term limits, which are legally prescribed limits on the number of terms an elected official can serve. Although term limits are argued to be the most efficient way to reform Congress, there are many ways in which they can be considered ineffective and even detrimental. In addition, even if term limits are effective, it is often questioned whether Congress is even meant to be effective. Term limits will essentially be able to get new faces into Congress, something that many consider necessary in terms of Congressional reform.…
In a well functioning republic, voters elect officials whose ideals align with their own. To allow politicians with a vested interest in the way districts are drawn create congressional districts is inherently illogical, and, as the court cases in Wisconsin and our state have shown, politicians of both parties will act on this vested interest. Disproportionate representation is a result of gerrymandering when redistricting is placed in the hands of state legislatures, but it is not the only result. Packing districts also decreases political competition. The consequence of the lack of competition is increasing polarity in office.…
Appropriations Committee: A congressional committee that works with federal spending. So What: The appropriations committee holds the power of the purse, and controls all the senate's spending. Bicameralism: A lawmaking body made up of two houses.…
Discuss realignment in American elections. What is a realignment, and what have been some of the major realignments? Two party system in the United States encourages broad coalitions and parties that include diverse groups. Most likely, small parties that only represent minority wouldn’t be able to win election effectively.…
The Electoral College Dilemma Premise: The U.S. Electoral College voting system needs to be improved upon because whoever earns the majority of total votes cast should be the winner. Definitions: Electoral College-…
However, there is no legislation against redistricting. The most significant point the author made was the pressing issue of racial redistricting in Texas. Gerrymandering is the redistribution in which electoral district boundaries are drawn for electoral advantage. Gerrymandering is often used to hinder political parties, racial groups, or class groups.…
When states need to redraw districts after every census, it is often up to state legislatures to figure out the lines. Within limits, the state legislatures can draw the districts however they see fit. The basic requirements from the federal government are equal populations in each congressional district, and compliance with the 1982 Voting Rights Amendment. The Voting Right Amendment prohibited both discriminatory intents and effects when drawing district lines, and allowed for the creation of majority-minority districts as a method of remedying discriminatory effects. Most other considerations – such as a desire to make districts geographically compact – are based on state laws.…
The United States and most Latin American nations have congress, Great Britain and most Western European nations have parliaments. A person becomes a member of a parliament such as the British House of Commons by being nominated by party leaders, voters generally choose between parties and parliaments tend to be made up of people loyal to the national party leadership who meet to debate and vote on party issues. A person becomes a member of the United States Congress by winning both a primary and a general election, elections in which personalities are usually most important to voters. A congress tends to be made up of people who think of themselves as independent representatives of their districts or states and who while willing to support…
A law involving gerrymandering was passed in 1967 that banned multimember districts for fear of racism or an unfair advantage to one party (Yglesias). The argument for gerrymandering is that it balances the seats in Congress, half Republican and half Democrat, providing the minority more of a majority in congress. It also provides politicians the ability to safely guarantee the majority in the House does not change because of…