Pros And Cons Of Election Districts

America is often referred to as a democracy, but in truth that is shorthand for a more nuanced reality. America is democratic, but it is also a republic. (Alvarez 1). The United States is controlled by laws that people are expected to abide by. Although a constitutional democracy and a constitutional republic allow the people to elect whom they want, they also differ greatly in their governed laws.

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. Given

The United States prides itself on being a democratic nation that serves its citizens, yet its voting system throws democracy away in favor of efficiency. Even on the state level, not all states are represented equally when electoral votes are distributed. Finally, the Electoral College discourages third-party candidates from running, giving too much power to the two political parties of the nation and robbing the nation’s citizens from potential leaders who could change the country for the better if they could win the

Between the years of 1750 to 1780, the british colonies were growing. People who came to America looked for rights and opportunities they did not have in Britain. People came for religious freedom and an opportunity to move up in society. Colonists believed America got more democratic than it was in the beginning. But the change was not as democratic as people thought. Democracy is where people in a society can enjoy the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. While there were changes within America, they were not democratic. More people had political opportunities near the 1770s but America became less democratic because of the conflicts between different religious groups and the division of upper and lower classes in terms of social

Gerrymandering is a process where the ruling political party uses the map of their state to draw lines that create voting districts in favor of their party. The result of this is that it doesn’t reflect the voters political views. For about 200 years the government has used gerrymandering during political elections and it continues to be used today (King, Elizabeth) . 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

The Electoral College has been widely debated since the Bush and Al Gore election in 2000 and has divided the country. In the 2016 election, the popular vote was nearly split in half, showing that people have very different political views. The founding fathers thought it would be the best way to choose a president, but times have changed. A system where a group of electors from each state has the power to override every vote cast in the America for the next president is absolutely intolerable. The Electoral College is no longer relevant now that a two-party system is in place. The Electoral College is unconstitutional and should be abolished because it gives too much power to states with over 20 electoral votes and ignores the voice of the people.

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. Reapportionment is redistributing representation within the state by reassign the representatives districts. The goals of this is to make districts of about equal size, sometimes to do this redistricting must occur. Redistricting is redrawing electoral district lines so that to create new districts for the representatives. This is what can lead to Gerrymandering. If one party hits the “trifecta” , meaning they control the governorship, senate, and house seats, then they are able to redraw the district lines. Gerrymandering is wrong because it does not let people have their proper voice in the government.

Gerrymandering is the redrawing of political boundaries, otherwise known as district lines, in a state to give one party a numeric advantage over the opposing party. This is done by dividing districts up into highly irregular sections to achieve the goal of having voters from a particular party highly concentrated in some areas and thinly scattered in other areas (Donnelly, Fortune). Gerrymandering has been criticized because it violates the two basic principles in electoral designation; compactness and equality of size of constituencies in electoral designation (The Editors, Britannica). There is currently no law against the process of Gerrymandering. However, the current Supreme Court case Gill v. Whitford could change that.

To Gerrymander something is to manipulate the boundaries of a district to favor one party or class. The information used to choose how to manipulate districts is by census data which means district lines are usually redrawn every 10 years. Is gerrymandering a fair practice? Political parties that are currently in power would say that it is fair because gerrymandering the district lines that are drawn are reviewed by a judge and then made into districts that way. So that means it follows the proper system to do so. But, if you were in the same district and opposed the current political party, you might say that gerrymandering is unfair because they give the current party in power an advantage. It gives them an advantage because they are the ones that author the redrawing of districts.

Legislative redistricting in nature is a simple concept. However, the implication of legislative redistricting arises complications. Redistricting is a powerful tool used by our government. It influences how a state will be represented and in turn how the people will be represented. The misuse of this power can lead to catastrophic consequences. Redistricting in itself is not a political question, but because of its implication and threat to the right to vote, it becomes one.

During political elections, or the presidential election per say, the election process can be hectic. Political parties strenuously work to convince people to favor their candidates. They perform this in order to receive political control and to rise in the governmental system. Two infamous political parties that are always competing are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The lure of gerrymandering is enticing because they take control of a state legislature by advancement of redistricting. It is an opportunity for the controlling party to fortify its power, by instance of district-to-district. However, for a minority party, this can be the opposite because it could be seen as an unfair abuse of power. Therefore, gerrymandering

Many people call themselves “true Americans” but most of them probably don’t even know the basics of government. One of the simplest things that American citizens do every 4 years is vote for their President and some people don’t understand the process in which this works. Some will say that they just count the votes and the candidate with the most votes wins, however that is not the case. Our founding fathers created the basis of our country and one thing that they created for the voting system is an Electoral College. An Electoral College is a process in which there are electors who cast your vote in your place for the vice president and the president. Our founding fathers created this system because they believed it was the best possible

America historically has stood for freedom and democracy. America is a democratic republic, which means the people vote for people to make decisions on their behalf; however, American democracy is not perfect. With the proper knowledge it is easy and legal for someone to turn the tides in politics towards their own favor or towards their political party’s favor. The two most common ways are to gerrymander and to manipulate the electoral college system. By knowing how the election laws work there are ways to legally and publicly win elections with a minority of the vote.

The political process in America is complicated, messy, and altogether avoided by most Americans. Contrary to popular belief, the United States of America is a neither a direct democracy nor fully a republic; instead we are a representational democracy. In most cities and town across America the mayors, and other city officials, are elected by the popular vote (whoever gets the most votes in an election wins). Counties and States use the same method when deciding who gets to be governor, state senators, or county commissioners. States are divided up into districts based on population numbers in order to elect the peoples’ representatives in either the state legislative house or the United States House of Representatives. When Americans go to

Single Transferable Vote (STV) is developed by Thomas Hill in 1819 for the purpose of electing the Committee of the Birmingham (England) Society for Literary and Scientific Improvement. He was a mathematician and schoolmaster. The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is defined as a type of proportional representation that produces a proportional parliament with local representation and the direct election of individuals. Single transferable vote (STV) is the predominant form of proportional representative in countries with a heritage of English influence. STV is used for the election of the Dáil (Assembly) in Ireland, the Senate in Australia, the House of Representatives in Malta and local councils in Scotland. On the other hand, in the United