Congress and Representation

I. Representation in the Congress

  1. Characteristics

    1. single member district
    2. plurality elections
    3. two-party system

  2. Democratic Theory: Who Should Be Represented?

    1. different political interests
    2. changes in public opinion

II. Reapportionment: Redistribution of U. S. Representatives among the states, based upon changes in population.

  1. boundries adjusted every ten years following the census (U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 2)

    1. Reapportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives, 2000

    2. Population Change in California, 1840 to 2000

    3. Constitutional Standards: "one man, one vote" (i.e., districts of equal population)

      1. Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S.(1962): state legislative districts of equal population
      2. Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964): congressional districts of equal population

    4. Constitutional Standards: Race may not be the predominant factor: Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630(1993)

    5. Methods of Reapportionment

      1. concentration: safe districts
      2. dispersion: competitive districts

    6. Reapportionment in California, 2002

    7. African-American Districts in Southern States (concentration)

      1. Louisiana 4th Congressional District

      2. Georgia 11th Congressional District

      3. North Carolina 12th Congressional District

    8. Political Consequences

      1. Democratic coalition in the South: Rural Whites and African- Americans
      2. Republicans: suburban whites
      3. Republican gains in the 1994 & 2002 congressional election
      4. Safe seats tend to be more ideological; competitive seats tend to be more moderate