Bellringer

#68 From Bill to Law

Congress 3Who’s in Congress & How They Got There

Today we will …

OBJECTIVES

Describe the characteristics of members of Congress and outline the process for electing members of Congress

Create congressional districts that give electoral advantage to a political party (gerrymandering)

AGENDA

Slide/notes review Set #3

Gerrymandering activity

One Person, One Vote article

Closure

HW – Question Set #4

18. Demographics of Congress

What are the trends of gender and race in Congress? Less male & less white Senate slower to change Members of color may gain influence

more quickly than women because the former often come from safe districts (where incumbents win by wide margins)

19. Qualifications & Privileges

QUALIFICATIONS

House: (term?) Age Citizenship Residence?

Senate: (term?) Age Citizenship Residence?

PRIVILEGES “Privileged speech” means that

Congressmen cannot be sued or prosecuted for anything they say or write in connection w/law making

Each house judges “elections, returns & qualifications” of its members Disputed elections Punishment: reprimand, censure & expel

Franking Privilege

At what point is speech NOT protected?

20. Incumbency

Media coverage is higher for incumbents Incumbents have greater name

recognition due to franking, travel to the district, news coverage

Incumbents can raise more money Members secure policies and programs

for voters Most House districts are safe not

MARGINAL Senators are less successful as

incumbents

21. Safe vs Marginal Districts

What’s safe? What’s marginal?

24. Who is successful in Primaries?

25. Sophomore Surge

Second time they run, incumbents get 8-10% more votes

Began in the 1960sPersonal Campaigns vs. Party Campaigns Franking privilege Trips home Access to media Services to district Run “against” Congress

26. Check for understanding

What are two important effects of the way people get elected to Congress?

Work of CongressMaking LawsOversightConstituency Casework

27. How members behave

Representational View “delegate”

Organizational View “politico”

Attitudinal View “Trustee”

Think, Pair, Share

Why do you think a member of Congress might sometimes act as a trustee rather than a delegate?

23. Apportionment

Apportionment - Allotting representatives to each state based on population. Done every 10 years based on census data.

Re-Apportionment: Census decides that representative seats should be redistributed.

Re-Districting: State legislatures define congressional districts.

Redistricting: states draw new lines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh4qAJDUOcc

Malapportionment & Gerrymandering

Malapportionment: When the district lines are drawn so that one district contains a much greater population than other districts within the state Is it “one person, one vote” or

“one person, one voter”? Gerrymandering: drawing a

district boundary in some bizarre shape to make it easy for the candidate of one party to win election in that district.

Majority-Minority Districts

Districts drawn to make it easier for minority citizens to elect a representative Descriptive Representation: Demographics of

representative & constituents match Substantive Representation: Ideology of

representative & constituents match Voting practices of African American & white

liberal representatives very similar

Check for understanding

Reading One Person, One Vote Underline and understand the cases

of Baker v Carr Reynolds v Sims

What does this article say about the selection of Supreme Court judges and the role of politics in the court?

Gerrymandering Activity

CLOSURE

Do you think that the power state legislatures have to draw district lines plays an unfair role in how parties sway the national Congress?

HW Set #4