-PDF Download- On The American Political Problem Of Partisan Gerrymandering EBOOK

On the American Political Problem of Partisan Gerrymandering

Author: Ricarda von Meding

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2019-07-16

Total Pages: 35

ISBN-13: 3668982724

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Law - Comparative Legal Systems, Comparative Law, grade: 16, University of Passau, language: English, abstract: This work is a systematic approach to one of the major problems within the American voting system, namely partisan gerrymandering. In response to the urgency of solving the problem of partisan gerrymandering, the origins of gerrymandering are depicted, followed by a comparison of suggested standards and solutions which have been proposed in light of recent court decisions, and an analysis of why none of them can satisfactorily solve the problem. Therefore, this paper takes a different approach and outlines how the problem can be diminished and ideally prevented in the future by approaching the problem in a more fundamental way. The right to cast an effective, meaningful vote in fair elections is at the core of every democratic system of government around the world. Even though this right has been embedded in the U.S. Constitution more than 200 years ago, the United States is now struggling more than ever before to provide this exact right to voting citizens. Partisan gerrymandering, the division of geographic areas into voting districts in a way that gives one party an unfair advantage in elections, increasingly poses a threat to the constitutional integrity of U.S.-American elections. Recently, the United States Supreme Court once again refused to set out a standard on the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering in two cases pending before it, delaying a clear answer to this perennial problem for another few years. This continues to leave lower courts, political scientists and legal scholars second-guessing the Supreme Court’s possible approach in the future.

Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy

Author: Erik J. Engstrom

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2013-09-30

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 047211901X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Since the nation’s founding, the strategic manipulation of congressional districts has influenced American politics and public policy

The Fight to Vote

Author: Michael Waldman

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2022-01-18

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1982198931

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

On cover, the word "right" has an x drawn over the letter "r" with the letter "f" above it.

Gerrymandering the States

Author: Alex Keena

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-07-22

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1009002554

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

State legislatures are tasked with drawing state and federal districts and administering election law, among many other responsibilities. Yet state legislatures are themselves gerrymandered. This book examines how, why, and with what consequences, drawing on an original dataset of ninety-five state legislative maps from before and after 2011 redistricting. Identifying the institutional, political, and geographic determinants of gerrymandering, the authors find that Republican gerrymandering increased dramatically after the 2011 redistricting and bias was most extreme in states with racial segregation where Republicans drew the maps. This bias has had long-term consequences. For instance, states with the most extreme Republican gerrymandering were more likely to pass laws that restricted voting rights and undermined public health, and they were less likely to respond to COVID-19. The authors examine the implications for American democracy and for the balance of power between federal and state government; they also offer empirically grounded recommendations for reform.

Drawing the Lines

Author: Nicholas R. Seabrook

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2017-02-07

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 1501707787

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Radical redistricting plans, such as that pushed through by Texas governor Rick Perry in 2003, are frequently used for partisan purposes. Perry's plan sent twenty-one Republicans (and only eleven Democrats) to Congress in the 2004 elections. Such heavy-handed tactics strike many as contrary to basic democratic principles. In Drawing the Lines, Nicholas R. Seabrook uses a combination of political science methods and legal studies insights to investigate the effects of redistricting on U.S. House elections. He concludes that partisan gerrymandering poses far less of a threat to democratic accountability than conventional wisdom would suggest.Building on a large data set of the demographics of redrawn districts and subsequent congressional elections, Seabrook looks less at the who and how of gerrymandering and considers more closely the practical effects of partisan redistricting plans. He finds that the redrawing of districts often results in no detrimental effect for district-level competition. Short-term benefits in terms of capturing seats are sometimes achieved but long-term results are uncertain. By focusing on the end results rather than on the motivations of political actors, Seabrook seeks to recast the political debate about the importance of partisanship. He supports institutionalizing metrics for competitiveness that would prove more threatening to all incumbents no matter their party affiliation.

Gerrymandering in America

Author: Anthony J. McGann

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-04-04

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1316589331

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book considers the political and constitutional consequences of Vieth v. Jubelirer (2004), where the Supreme Court held that partisan gerrymandering challenges could no longer be adjudicated by the courts. Through a rigorous scientific analysis of US House district maps, the authors argue that partisan bias increased dramatically in the 2010 redistricting round after the Vieth decision, both at the national and state level. From a constitutional perspective, unrestrained partisan gerrymandering poses a critical threat to a central pillar of American democracy, popular sovereignty. State legislatures now effectively determine the political composition of the US House. The book answers the Court's challenge to find a new standard for gerrymandering that is both constitutionally grounded and legally manageable. It argues that the scientifically rigorous partisan symmetry measure is an appropriate legal standard for partisan gerrymandering, as it logically implies the constitutional right to individual equality and can be practically applied.

Party Lines

Author: Thomas E. Mann

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2008-05-31

Total Pages: 141

ISBN-13: 0815797923

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The legitimacy of the American electoral system depends on sustaining reasonable levels of fairness, accountability, responsiveness, and common sense. Recent Congressional elections fly in the face of those requirements, however, with a startling lack of competition, growing ideological polarization, and a fierce struggle between the parties to manipulate the electoral rules of the game. Party Lines addresses these problems head on in an authoritative and timely analysis of redistricting in the United States. The practice of state legislatures redrawing district lines after the decennial census has long been a controversial aspect of our governing system. Recent developments have added new urgency to earlier debates. The sorry spectacle of mid-decade partisan gerrymandering in Texas renewed public attention to the potential problems of redistricting, reinforcing the view that it is unfairly dominated by self-serving elected officials and parties. The perfunctory character of Congressional elections is another growing problem—in 2002, only four House incumbents were defeated in the general election, the lowest in American history. Despite a hotly contested presidential contest in 2004, that number increased by only three. In Pa rty Lines, eminent political analysts explain the legal and political history of redistricting since the one person–one vote revolution in the 1960s and place it in the larger context of American politics. The authors document the impact of redistricting on competition, polarization, and partisan fairness, and they assess the role technology played in the redistricting process. The final chapter analyzes options for reform, including most importantly the use of independent redistricting commissions as an alternative to the normal state legislative process. Redistricting reform is no panacea but it is a start toward ensuring that American voters still have the largest say in who will represent them. Contributors include Micah

Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy

Author: Erik J. Engstrom

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2013-09-30

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 0472900013

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Erik J. Engstrom offers a historical perspective on the effects of gerrymandering on elections and party control of the U.S. national legislature. Aside from the requirements that districts be continuous and, after 1842, that each select only one representative, there were few restrictions on congressional districting. Unrestrained, state legislators drew and redrew districts to suit their own partisan agendas. With the rise of the “one-person, one-vote” doctrine and the implementation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, however, redistricting became subject to court oversight. Engstrom evaluates the abundant cross-sectional and temporal variation in redistricting plans and their electoral results from all the states, from 1789 through the 1960s, to identify the causes and consequences of partisan redistricting. His analysis reveals that districting practices across states and over time systematically affected the competitiveness of congressional elections; shaped the partisan composition of congressional delegations; and, on occasion, determined party control of the House of Representatives.

A Divided Union

Author: Dario Moreno

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-10-26

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 1000216535

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A Divided Union delves deep into ten pressing political challenges that former US Representatives Patrick Murphy (D) and David Jolly (R) have identified over their multiple terms in Congress and that continue to plague the American electorate today. In an introduction describing their unique paths to Congress, Murphy and Jolly focus in detail on key institutional barriers they faced in Washington in attempting to do the job voters elected them to do. They introduce us to geographic challenges, demographic change, a polarized media, gerrymandering, the role of money in politics, the structure of primary elections, and several other aspects of political life on Capitol Hill. The core of the book is original analysis by experts who tackle these topics in a manner relevant to both the seasoned political science student as well as the general reader. From the commercials we see on TV to the city council districts in which we live, these concerns shape every facet of our public lives and are distilled here in a careful synthesis of years of experience and research. Contributors include former federal elected officials, political science professors, members of the press, and scholars immersed in their fields of study. While other textbooks may examine similar issues, few have been edited by former members of the U.S. House who have walked the halls of Congress and directly experienced political dysfunction at so many levels – and are willing to address it. A Divided Union is appropriate for all political science students as well as the general public frustrated and alarmed by political gridlock.

Gerrymandering

Author: Stephen K. Medvic

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2021-05-04

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1509536884

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

For nearly as long as there have been electoral districts in America, politicians have gerrymandered those districts. Though the practice has changed over time, the public reaction to it has remained the same: gerrymandering is reviled. There is, of course, good reason for that sentiment. Gerrymandering is intended to maximize the number of legislative seats for one party. As such, it is an attempt to gain what appears to be an unfair advantage in elections. Nevertheless, gerrymandering is not well understood by most people and this lack of understanding leads to a false sense that there are easy solutions to this complex problem. Gerrymandering: The Politics of Redistricting in the United States unpacks the complicated process of gerrymandering, reflecting upon the normative issues to which it gives rise. Tracing the history of partisan gerrymandering from its nineteenth-century roots to the present day, the book explains its legal status and implementation, its consequences, and possible options for reform. The result is a balanced analysis of gerrymandering that acknowledges its troubling aspects while recognizing that, as long as district boundaries have to be drawn, there is no perfect way to do so.