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HOR/Con. Elections
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Did the Constitution set the exact size of the HOR? | No, it only says it's size must be distributied proportionaly according to states' population. |
| How many representatives are guaranteed to each state by the Constitution? | At least one. |
| How many states have one seat currently in the HOR? | Seven |
| Reapportionment? | Direction by the Constitution to reapportion House seats after each Census. (10 years) |
| Reapportionment Act? (1929) | Set the maximum number of representatives in the House to 435. |
| About how many citizens does each seat in the House represent? | 700,000 |
| Why is reapportionment important? | It changes the number of seats a state has and the number of votes in the Electoral College. |
| Does the Constitution define congressional districts? | No. |
| In what year did Congress stipulate that all seats in the HOR would be filled from single-menber districts? | 1842 |
| What law gave each state the power to draw it's own boundary lines for congressional districts? | The 1842 Law |
| Gerrymandering? | Drawing congressional district lines to benefit one's own party |
| What is one effect of gerrymandering? | It protects imcumbents and discourages challengers |
| Another effect of gerrymandering? | Strengthens the majority party and weakens the opposition |
| Yet another effect of gerrymandering? | Can increase or decrease minority representation. |
| What type of area dominated many state legislatures? | Rural |
| What case put forth "one person, one vote"? | Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) |
| What did Wesberry v. Sanders cause? | Wide redistricting that favored cities and suburbs. |
| What is one restiction the Supreme Court has placed on redistricting? | Equally populated |
| What is one restiction the Supreme Court has placed on redistricting? | Districts must be compact. |
| What is one restiction the Supreme Court has placed on redistricting? | Lines must be contiguous or connected. |
| What is one restiction the Supreme Court has placed on redistricting? | Cannot dilute minority voting power. |
| What is one restiction the Supreme Court has placed on redistricting? | Cannot be drawn solely on race. can be a factor. |
| What has the Supreme Court not eliminated? Why? | Gerrymandering. Partisan reasons. |
| What has the most important factor in congressional elections over the past 50 years? | Incumbancy |
| What percent of House incumbents win? | 90 percent |
| What percent of Senate incumbents win? | 75 percent |
| What is the main reason incumbants usually win? | Money |
| What is the ratio incumbents outspend challengers by? | More than 2:1 |
| 2nd reason incumbents win? | Visibility |
| Visibility? | Better known to the voters. |
| 3rd reason incumbents win? | Constituent service |
| What do members of Congress do to gain support? | Casework for their district (money and jobs) |
| What is "pork"? | legislation the allows reps to bring money and jobs to their districts. |
| 4th reason incumbents win? | the franking privilege |
| The franking privilege? | The right of members of Congress to mail newsletters to their constituents at the gov's expense. |
| What has Congress recently added to the franking privilege? | Emails and recorded phone calls |
| 5th reason incumbents win? | Gerrymandering |
| What do members of the House often represent? | heavily gerrymandered districts that support incumbents |
| What do gerrymandered districts discourage? | Strong challengers from trying to compete with incumbents |
| What is one consequence of the Incumbent Advantage? | Experienced leaders in Congress |
| What is one consequence of the Incumbent Advantage? | discourages radical change, but encourages close relationships with intrest groups |
| What is one consequence of the Incumbent Advantage? | They benefit from existing campaign finance laws, therefore they have no motivation to reform them. |
| What do incumbents have opprotunites to participate in? | Highly visible activites covered by local radio stations and newspapers. |
Created by:
1314ryanmartin
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