Redistricting Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Redistricting is the process by which election district boundaries are redrawn periodically in conformity with constitutional or statutory mandates. Primarily, redistricting is undertaken to equalize district populations and thereby equalize individual voting power. However, in many cases, the redistricting process is constrained as well by constitutional or statutory requirements to ensure the preservation of representational opportunities for particular political, ethnic, or geographic groups. Insofar as the process entails the reallocation of political power, it is highly contentious.

Redistricting should not be confused with either reapportionment or gerrymandering. Reapportionment refers to the process by which political representation (in terms of the number of legislative seats to which a particular state, province, or region is entitled) is reallocated in accordance with a particular formula. Thus, in the United States, the number of seats in the House of Representatives to which a state is entitled is recalculated after the decennial census. Gerrymandering refers to the manipulation of the redistricting process for partisan or other discrete political gain. To the extent that the group controlling the redistricting process can draw election district lines in a manner that either helps or harms the representational opportunities of particular political groups, critics may claim that the district lines have been gerrymandered.

Gerrymandering is a special problem in countries where the redistricting process is subject to partisan control. Thus, in the United States, the Constitution grants control of the line drawing process to states. In most cases, the party or parties controlling the state legislature at the time of the census also control the redistricting process. In contrast, other countries, such as Canada, turn the process over to independent commissions. This practice removes the veneer of partisanship that characterizes the U.S. process.

Because even the most neutral process and statutory principles may have a severely deleterious impact on the representational opportunities of particular political groups, many nations have enacted constitutional or statutory requirements to ensure that minority groups or other political communities of interest are protected. In the United States, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (as amended in 1982) mandates that those who redistrict ensure that particular minority groups have a fair opportunity to elect their candidates of choice. In other countries, such provisions may include requirements that party lists include a certain minimum percentage of women or ethnic candidates, or the creation of special minority electoral districts.

In a few countries, such as Canada and the United States, the redistricting process may be challenged in the courts. However, in most countries, the redistricting process is strictly the province of the elected branches or commissions.

In sum, redistricting remains a contentious issue because it allows a select group of people (e.g., legislators, commissioners) to decide how political power will be allocated. Invariably, the redistricting process breeds controversy because there always will be one or more political actors who believe that the district boundaries have been drawn unfairly.

Bibliography:

Administration and Cost of Elections Project. 2010, www.aceproject.org. Amy, Douglas. Real Choices/New Voices. 2nd ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.
Courtney, John C. Commissioned Ridings: Designing Canada’s Electoral Districts. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 2001.
Elections Canada. “Representation Formula: Detailed Calculations for 2001 Census.” N.d., www.elections.ca/scripts/fedrep/federal_e/repform_e.htm.
Rush, Mark E. ed. Voting Rights and Redistricting in the United States. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1998.
S. Bureau of the Census. “Congressional Apportionment: How It’s Calculated.” 2008, www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/ apportionment/calculated.html.

This example Redistricting Essay is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.