Exploring Redistricting

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Recommended: Minorities In Congress

URP5272 Congressional Analysis Using GIS to Examine Florida Congressional District 5 Joseph Fluriach 12/15/2014 Disclaimer: The Introduction and Parts of the Literature review were taken from a paper I wrote for Dr. Karin Brewster’s Intro to Demography class. The topics were similar, but the paper for Dr. Brewster was titled, “Exploring Redistricting”. I used paragraphs that explained the process of redistricting and a couple key theories surrounding demographic factors in districts. Intro There’s an urban myth that says when political opponents of the infamous former Governor of Massachusetts and Vice President Elbridge Gerry, reviewed his redistricting plans for Massachusetts, one remarked that a certain district’s shape resembled …show more content…

To ensure equal voting weight, the populations of each district must be as close to equal as possible. Next there must be proportional minority representation among the districts. In some cases, the only way to create equal districts involves splitting cities, communities, or even individual neighborhoods. How these populations are measured can have a large effect on how districts are created. Law makers use total population number from the Census as their foundation in creating equal sized districts, but the specific age structure can drastically change voting aged populations in each …show more content…

One is that minority populations have a younger age structure, limiting the number of voting aged individuals in the district and negating the small margin that the district makeup gave them. Second are the lasting effects of racial segregation. The states and areas that are required to create these districts are generally in the South, where Jim Crow laws and past voting rights violations may still quell minority registration and turnout. Inversely, if a districts minority makeup is too high, “80% or more”, this actually dilutes the impact of minority voters and can be considered minority stacking. Scholars have long debated and have settled on the magical 65% as the optimal makeup for a minority district that gives a realistic chance for the favored minority representative to be elected. Both the U.S. District Court in Washington and the Justice Department have adopted this number for the enforcement of the Voting Rights

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