How Do Political Parties Influence Congressional Elections

One strength of a political party is that they are “essential institutions for the operation of the American government” (Barker, 2016, p. 1, para. 1). One of the functions of the political party is to be the middle person between citizens and “their elected government” (Barker, 2016, p. 4, para. 2) so that the people can feel as if their voices will be heard and the issues will be resolved. Although political parties should be for the people, one of the weaknesses is that “many believe that the major parties do not do an adequate job of

Gerrymandering is the process of redrawing boundaries to benefit the political party in power. An example is Nevada, in which the four districts show the three forms. Gerrymandering was made after Elbridge Gerry, who was the governor of Massachusetts and Vice President of the U.S., signed a bill that redistricted the state to benefit his party, which was later called Partisan Gerrymandering. An individual observed the oddly shaped district as a "gerrymander" causing a newspaper reporter to print a cartoon of a monster based on it.

Gerrymandering Position Paper Gerrymandering is the irregular redrawing of district lines to give one political party an advantage. Gerrymandering usually starts with a census. Every ten years, it is necessary to recount the people to redistribute the seats for the members of the House of Representatives. If a state gains or loses states it is necessary to reapportion the state.

Given the legal nature of the gerrymandering issue, there is an extensive legal background on the issue since the ninetieth century. This literature review gives the more relevant legal background regarding Pennsylvania’s current situation, as well as background information on the novel ways that policy-makers and researchers measure political gerrymandering. Keeping the legal background and measurement procedures in context, there are also legislative reforms and commission procedures that states have taken in order to ameliorate the problems that arise from gerrymandering. A. Constitutionality & Legal Background The Pennsylvania State Constitution contains relevant clauses that must be applied to any redistricting plan.

The political theorists David R. Mayhew, Gary W. Cox, and Matthew D. McCubbins argue on how the US Congress functions. They focus on the members of Congress and their actions. The basis of disagreement between the theorists lies in what Congress members find of importance. Mayhew argues that members of Congress, primarily concern themselves with reelection, as such, any action taken only benefits that. Cox and McCubbins’, however, formulate that Congress functions on the basis of majority party control and unity.

Hello Erik, I really like how you explain gerrymandering. I also agree with you that racial gerrymandering is worse than partisan gerrymandering. Gerrymandering altogether is bad and create a lot of problem and it mess with the result of the election. I really like it when you said “Racial gerrymandering is aimed towards a specific racial group and leads to the unfair and unequal treatment based upon race while partisan gerrymandering is not based upon race.” That pretty much sum it up

Gerrymandering; the process of manipulating district boundaries in order to gain a political advantage, and also one of the most controversial politic topics in today's government. Many people are for, and also against, changing the redistricting process in an effort to eliminate gerrymandering. The textbook and attached video provide answers, and then some to any questions about gerrymandering. To begin, the redistricting process takes place every 10 years. It takes place every ten years because the national census takes place every 10 years, allowing the redistricting to follow directly behind the census.

The act of redistricting can also isolate voters of a specific party. All these acts are undoubtedly undemocratic and will continue to have a drastic impact on U.S. politics unless it is

But recently gerrymandering has become more controversial because people feel that it has taken away their rights as a voter and it swings the votes to one side by a big percentage. Current cases are before the courts to decide if gerrymandering is legal. Some states have been discussing whether it should still be allowed during elections. “Many efforts are underway to remedy this political

Party strength is a measure of the ability of a party to get people to vote for its candidates. The post-World War II shift in party strength was part of a massive shift in policy over time. Scholars saw Republican politicians increasingly excel at getting elected at the local level (Lublin 2006), to offices in the state (Hayes and McKee 2007), and federal governments (Black and Black 2002, 1992; Shafer and Johnston 2006). It is difficult to see how the Republican Party would have become the majority in Congress in 1994 without the increased voting strength in the South. This marked a dramatic shift in national policy.

a) Specialization is an element of the congressional committee system in which members of Congress are divided into specified areas of policy with the idea that the Congressmen will be experts in their specific areas. The specialization of these congressmen allows for a more efficient legislative process as Congressmen will have an advanced foundation that can therefore limit the amount of debates on bills. As a result, the congressional committee system will perform adequately. Party representation in committees is another element of the congressional committee system where a committee is leaning more towards one favorable party. This element influences the legislative process as they tend to follow legislation solely based on the favorable

In advising the Chief Justice, it is obvious that the voting districts should be redrawn for a multitude of reasons. As the system of drawing districts stands, it is highly vulnerable to corruption for the party in power, as they are the ones deciding the districts. Concurrently, those in power are incentivized to maintain their power through any means necessary; which, in a democracy, is obtaining the most votes. Because it is extremely difficult determining whether or not the drawing of a district is preferential to one party over another is, the risk to those in power is minimal while the potential payout is high. Thus, short of any moral reasoning to stop them, the likelihood of someone gaming the design of voting districts is high.

I think that political parties are not very good at organizing the political interests of citizens. They create party platforms that seek to inform voters in hopes that they will agree with that party's positions on issues. However, parties can change their positions about major issues or have unclear positions. If a party has certain positions on different issues that few people agree with than they would not have as much support from voters. Political parties can increase their voter turnout by being more responsive in order to engage citizens.

During the course of history there have been several political parties. The largest of these parties that has endured through the eras are both the Democrats and the Republicans. The two political parties in particular have conflicting beliefs that differentiate from each other. Although they differentiate from one another they both are capable to discover agreements on several political and public issues.

A democracy is a system of government that gives the people the power to govern. This can either be done directly, where citizens actively participate in the decision making of the country, or indirectly through elected representatives. The purpose of the democratic process is to protect the interests of all citizens of a country. In order to do so, every citizen in the country needs a medium through which to express his political opinion to defend his interests. This is the role of political parties.