Chapter 13 Part One Choosing the Congress

Chapter 13Part One

Choosing the Congress

Instructor: Kevin SextonCourse: U.S. Political SystemsSoutheast Missouri State University

The Make Up OfThe U.S. Congress

IN 1789 Senate had 26 Members House of Representatives had 65 Members

IN 2010 Senate has 100 MembersHouse of Representatives have 435 Members

The Make Up OfThe U.S. Congress

Prior to 1913 ONLY members of the House of Representatives were DIRECTLY

elected.

With Passage of the 17th Amendment BOTHSenators and Representatives are

DIRECTLY elected.

Requirements to be a member of Congress

Senate At Least 30 years old 9 Years a Citizen of the U.S. Citizen of State to which elected to represent

House of Representatives At Least 25 years old 7 Years a Citizen of the U.S. Citizen of State to which elected to represent

Terms of Office

Members of Senate elected for SIX year terms. With 1/3 of Senate being elected every two years.

Members of the House of Representatives elected for TWO year terms.With 100% of House of Representatives being

elected every two years.

How are states represented in Congress?

Each state has TWO Senators.

Each state has at least one member of the House of Representatives.

State with most members of the House:California with 53

States with fewest members of the House: States have only one

How Do We Decide How Many Representatives A State Will Have?

Each state’s representation in the House is based on the population of that state.

In 1789 there was one representative for every 30,000 citizens.

Today the total number of members of the House is capped at 435. WHY?

The Size of The House of Representatives

Is Capped at 435?

Originally, the size of the US House of Representativeswould increase by one member for each 30,000 increase

in population. This increase in members would takeplace every ten years (US Census). As the population

Of the United States started to grow rapidly it was Determined that the size of the House of Representatives

Should be capped at 435.

The cap was approved as part of the Reapportionment Act of 1929

Why is the House of Representatives

Capped at 435?

Consider this.According to the US Census Bureau the current population of the United States is 309,111,872. (as of 4/21/10)

If we divide that by 30,000 you get 10,303. Could you image having a House of Representatives

With 10,303 members?

Today we take the total population and divide it by 435, and that determines how many people each member

of the House will represent.

approx. 710,602

Reapportionment

Repportionment:Distributing the 435 seats among the 50 states.

Completed every 10 years based on the information gathered by the US CENSUS.

States could gain or lose seats based on population shifts within the United States.

Reapportionment

California in 18502 Seats in House of Reps

California in 200053 Seats in House of Reps

Reapportionment

New York in 194045 Seats in House of Reps

New York in 200029 Seats in House of Reps

RedistrictingAfter the reapportionment is complete, the

STATES have to redraw the district lines within their states.

District lines are re-drawn every ten years because the number of individuals a member of the House represents changes, and the population has shifted within the state.

It is important to note that it is the STATES that re-draw the district lines, based on information given to them from the federal government (U.S. Census Bureau).

RedistrictingAccording to the National Conference of State Legislatures:

21 of the 50 States develop commissions to re-draw district lines.

29 of the 50 States allow the state legislature to re-draw the district lines.

Regardless of which plan is used the two major parties in that state (always the Democrats and Republicans) will generally have almost

complete control over the process.

The redistricting processes used in the United States are another reason that third parties have a hard time gaining power in our

political process/system.

To see an interesting interactive demonstration of how redistricting can impact an election visit http://www.redistrictinggame.org. This site allows you to draw district lines and it demonstrates how easily those districts

can be manipulated to benefit one group over another.

Redistricting

Drawing the district lines is a delicate process. If one party has complete control over drawing the lines they could draw district lines that give their party a huge advantage.

This is done by drawing strangely shaped districts to put more of one party in a district. Known as GERRYMANDERING

The next slide will show an example.

GerrymanderingHere is a fictional map of Missouri with 7 districts. Four Are Democratic and Three are Republican. But inside Two of the republican districts, there are big pockets ofDemocrats. But the pockets do not have enough peopleTo win the district. If the Democrats could draw the districtLines the way they wanted, they could make one districtThat included both of those pockets of Democrats. The Image below shows what the district lines might look like ifThe Democrats could draw the lines.

In this map the district lines have been drawn to includeBoth pockets of Democrats into a single district. This isDone so the Democrats can vote together and get theirMembers elected. Before the were separated and unableTo get their member elected in neither district.NOTICE – there are still only 5 districts, but the lines have Changed.

Affirmative Action Redistricting

In 1982, amendments to the Voting Rights Act required the creation of MAJORITY-MINORITY DISTRICTS wherever possible.

The creation of districts that are made up of mostly minorities. (GERRYMANDERING?)

This was done to try and increase the number of minorities represented in Congress.

Election Process

Primary ElectionProcess that each party goes through to decide which candidate will represent their party in the

general election.

General ElectionProcess in which the candidate from each party

compete against each other. Winner of this process wins the office.

Congressional Elections

Open SeatA Congressional election in which there

is no INCUMBENT.

Safe Seat A Congressional district that is certain

to vote for the candidate of one party.

Congressional Job Approval

As the image to the left demonstrates, Americans do not usually have a high level of confidence in or approval for the job being done by the

U.S. Congress.

Congress As A Career

Prior to 1900 the average length of service of a member of the House of Representatives was less than 3 years. The picture was very similar in the Senate.Today, things are much different. Today’s Congress is a PROFESSIONAL LEGISLATURE, with most members staying in office as long as they can.Sitting members of Congress, INCUMBENTS, have a huge advantage when it comes to getting re-elected.

Running for Re-electionWhen a member of Congress chooses to run for re-

election, they win an overwhelming percent of the time.

Since WWII approximatley 92% of all House of Rep. incumbents, that run for re-election, win re-

election. Incumbent members of the Senate have won 78% of the time.

Can we explain how/why this happens, especially in light of the information presented on the previous

slide dealing withCongressional Job Approval.

Congressional Job Approval Revisited.

As was demonstrated on a previous slide, the American

people put very little confidence in the job that Congress as a whole is doing. But, when we ask

Americans how their individual member of

Congress is doing we find that most have a much higher regard for the job

THEIR MEMBER is doing.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS SO?

Constituency ServiceMedia CoverageCampaign FundsAdvantages of Office

FrankingCasework

Experience or Voting History

Advantages of Incumbency

Why Do Senators Have A Harder Time Getting Re-Elected

• Party Competition• More Diverse District • More Media Coverage• Better Challengers• Higher Ambitions of Candidates