Congress:Representative Pressures

Jamie MonoganUniversity of GeorgiaSeptember 21, 2015

Objectives

By the end of this meeting, participants should be able to:•Debate how members of Congress can best represent constituents.

Constitutional Prerogatives: Powers of Congress• Designed to be the most powerful

branch• Primary lawmaking body• Article 1, Section 8, lists

enumerated (or expressed) powers• Also lists the necessary and proper

(or “elastic”) clause, where the broadest power is found

Constitutional Prerogatives: Structure• Representation through a bicameral

legislature –Comprised of the House and Senate–Connecticut Compromise between large

and small states

• House and Senate: contrast term lengths & percentage up for reelection

• Principal-agent problem: public representation

What is the Best Type of Representation?• How does a member determine

how best to represent her constituents?

• Edmund Burke proposed that sometimes members act like trustees and other times like delegates

• Most members try to balance these visions of representation

Redistricting

• The number of districts in each state is based on population, with each state getting at least one

• The total number of districts has been fixed at 435 since 1911

• Most states redraw district lines every ten years even if they don’t lose or gain seats

Redistricting and “One Person, One Vote”• Supreme Court put restrictions on

the drawing of districts in the 1960s–Baker v. Carr (1962)–Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)–Reynolds v. Sims (1964)

• Districts must adhere to “one person, one vote” standard

• Forced states to draw districts with equal populations

Gerrymandering

• Politics easily intrudes into the drawing of districts

• By redistricting, states can manipulate representation

• Districts are frequently drawn in strange shapes to gain political advantage Texas, District 18 in 1992

Redistricting and Minority Representation

• Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the election of more minority candidates

• Section 2: No dilution of minority vote (no packing or cracking)

• Court scrutiny of congressional redistricting– Section 5 provision for preclearance– Shelby County v. Holder (2013) and Section 4(b)

• Federal examiners under Section 6 (expired 2006)• Also a rise in the number of women elected, but

Congress still does not demographically mirror the nation as a whole

Partisan and Racial Redistricting

Assignments

• Chapter 5 concept map exercise due at 11:59pm on Wednesday.– Login to ELC to complete

• Also for Wednesday: Read Kollman, pp. 153-183

• For Friday: Read Bullock & Gaddie, Chapter 5

Additional Material

Causes of Individualism: Plurality & SMD• Elections for the House and

Senate use single-member districts (SMD) and plurality rule

• In single-member districts, each district/state chooses one representative

• Plurality means that whoever receives the most votes wins

Causes of Individualism: Primary Elections• Candidates for office used to be

determined by leaders in the party organization

• Primaries started as a way to nominate candidates in the early 20th century

• Primaries allow voters to choose who will appear under the party label on the general-election ballot

The Incumbency Advantage• Members of Congress are

reelected in very high numbers• What causes this advantage?–Gerrymandering–Pork–Television access–Campaign finance–National party efforts