Essay 13

2008-1) Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted, politicians often engage in gerrymandering.

(a) Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states.
Congressional reappointment is the process by which the House of Representatives in the USA are redistributed among the states following each mandated decennial census. Congressional reappointment is important because it increases or decreases the number of seats a state has in the House of Representatives and Congress. It's also important because it allows more representatives which make the state have more of an influence. 

(b) Define congressional redistricting.
Congressional redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census.

(c) Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting.
One goal of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting is making the territory safe for a candidate of the ruling party. Another goal of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting is taking away a safe district from the oppositions party. Another goal of politicians  when they gerrymander during redistricting is to get an area that consist of people who will most likely vote in his/her favor and to get as many votes from these people as possible. 


(d) Describe two limits that the United State Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting.
One limit that the United State Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting is districts must be equally populated. This requires that each federal district within a state have about the same number of people, each state district within a state must have about the same number of people, and each local district within its jurisdiction must have about the same number of people.  Another limit that the United State Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting is districts lines cannot be drawn in a way that violates civil rights. This requires that redistricting is not abused to dilute racial or ethnic minorities' voice at the polls.