FrontPage: Do you support drawing districts in order to “ensure” minorities win seats in

Congress?

Last Word: 5.2/5.3 due Wednesday

Bending the Rules: District Drawing and

Gerrymandering

The Intersection of Politics and “Creative” Drawing…

Background QuestionsWho is given the power to draw

Congressional districts? Why might this be problematic without some

kind of control?  Give an example of one problem that

occurred (or might have occurred) in states before the courts began to get involved in cases dealing with the drawing of Congressional districts.

Wesberry vs. Sanders James P. Wesberry, Jr., was one of the citizens of Fulton County, Georgia,

who filed suit challenging the state apportionment law. Georgia's 5th Congressional District, which included Fulton County, was one of five voting districts created by a 1931 Georgia law. By 1960, the population of the 5th district had grown to such an extent that its single congressman had to represent two to three times as many voters as did congressmen in the other Georgia districts.

What was the problem with the 5th district in Georgia, according to Wesberry?

Do you think it was fair to have this district?

What was the Supreme Court’s ruling in this case?

Because of Court decisions, for many years these two

rules govern district drawing…

#1 - Must be COMPACT and CONTIGUOUS

#2 - Must have about the same number of PEOPLE

Shaw vs. Reno (1993) NC state legislature submitted a plan that

included two majority-minority districts, one of an unusual shape.

Certain residents of the district believed that the state may have violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, which prevents any state from discriminating (making unfair distinctions) against persons according to their race.

Should states be allowed to draw districts like this, especially if they benefit minorities?

Shaw vs. Reno (1993) The district was unconstitutional…it

violated the Equal Protection clause of the 14th amendment.Race can be one factor when drawing

Congressional districts, but it cannot be used as a predominant factor when redrawing congressional districts, unless there was some compelling state interest such as eliminating racial discrimination.

Redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny under the equal protection clause, BUT…

Groups doing redistricting must be conscious of race to the extent that they must ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act.

The Intersection of Politics and Creative Drawing…

When parties draw district boundaries, they want to gain any kind of advantage they can…What do we call the drawing of district

boundaries to favor one party or type of candidate over another?What is the goal of gerrymandering?

Example of Packing and Cracking

Illinois’ 4th

The Illinois 4th Congressional District is a Hispanic majority district in parts of the North Side and the southwest side of Chicago.

It surrounds a black majority district, the 7th district. It is ten miles wide,

and runs along railroad tracks, forest preserves, and cemeteries.

The Supreme Court declined to hear a suit about the 4th district.

Close-up of the 4th

Close-up of Illinois’1st

Aided by computer, Texas District 22 was produced by for former Rep. Tom DeLay, a Republican.  

California’s 23rd district

North Carolina’s 12th

Close to home…