Reapportionment

Reapportionment• The U.S. is a REPRESENTATIVE type

of government – Citizens elect people to Congress to

vote on issues for them– Constituents are the people

represented by the member of Congress

– 2 Senators per state (represent the whole state)

– Members of the House represent a particular district (area) of the state

Census• Membership to the House

of Representatives is based on population– 435 seats available – divided

among states based on population

– Census – a population count; official national census occurs every 10 years and is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau

Reapportionment

• EVERY 10 YEARS THE SEATS IN THE HOUSE MUST BE RE-DIVIDED!

– reapportionment – the process of reassigning representation based on population

– When some states grow faster than others, the slower growing states may lose seats (representation) in the House without actually experiencing a decrease in population

Redistrict

–Redistrict – to set up new district lines after reapportionment is complete

Gerrymander• Gerrymander – redistrict

lines in a state to the political advantage of the State’s dominant party– Packing – putting opponents

votes into one district– Cracking – splitting up

opponents votes into many districts

The Process

Census Reapportionment Redistricting Gerrymandering