Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Census 2010: Congressional Reapportionment
Look at some of the analysis of the recently released 2010 census data. It appears that much of the population shift can be attributed to migration to the South and West. Here you can find some of the most notable changes and this graphic illustrates the population shifts and the political changes this causes.
Using your knowledge of redistricting and gerrymandering, explain how the population shifts benefit Republicans. What do the midterm elections have to do with this? Do you think the changes are fair? What effects do you think this will lead to nationally or locally?
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The population shifts benefit Republicans because states in new england are normally Democratic and states in the south like TX are normally Republican, so Republicans will gain some seats. Midterm elections determined who will be in control of redistricting and with Republicans in control they will probably favor themselves. I think it is dumb, but fair because both sides gerrymander. I think overall very little will change.
ReplyDeletenew england and the midwest are generally more liberal than the deep south and the west, so the migration of people from the liberal areas to the conservative areas benefits the republicans because they gain seats in areas where they have a very high win rate, so they will in turn gain more representation in both the local and national stages. This will also make the senate and house of representatives a lot grayer, and a lot uglier.
ReplyDeleteNew England's loss of seats will probably benefit the Republicans, and so will the fact that in most of the states gaining seats, redistricting is controlled by an overwhelmingly Republican government (rather than a more divided one.) However, the influx of minorities will have an interesting impact; states that would be expected to go all out Republican might split even or even sway to the Democratic side with the minority (D) vote. But with a Republican-dominated legislature its probably inevitable that they will redistrict to their own benefit and like Rothenberg said, could influence elections for the next decade. I don't know if its fair or not, but both parties do it, and its politics, so I guess it's just generally accepted as okay.
ReplyDeleteAs people move from new england to the south and west it benefits the Republicans because the south and west are generally more conservative and so the republicans can win more seats in congress. The results of the midterms determined that the republicans are now running things and will most likely favor themselves while redistricting. It's not fair but it's just a part of politics and the Democrats would do the same thing if they won midterms so both sides do it.
ReplyDeleteso as more people from liberal rust belt states to mosre conservative sun belt states they give the conservative states more seats. so then the republican party will have an easier time dominating national and local politics. they will also most likely redistrice to benefit their party even more in the next elections. they will certainly five obama a run for his money at his reelection, because many of the states he held in the last election will loose seats.
ReplyDeleteThe shift would benefit Republicans because obviously most of New England has a liberal bias as southern/western states have conservative ideals. By having the migration to south and west it allows republicans to take control of areas which they already know are strongly in their favor as well as the ones that democrats are migrating from. I think its fair because first of all, considering it only happens every 10 years, each party has its chance to take over. And obviously each party will have a bias partisan way of redistricting but that’s just how it goes.
ReplyDeleteNew England loosing seats will hurt the democrats, but not overly much because they are still mostly democrat and it will have little effect on the electoral college votes. It will have some effect in congress because the republicans will probably gain a couple. In the south, however, much of the new population is made up of minorities who will vote differently than traditional southerners. That means we can hope that for the next midterm election, instead of texas gaining four republican seats, possibly 3 of those seats could go democratic, which means that there will be less change than you might think at first glamce.
ReplyDeleteThe Northeast and the Midwest have lost seats, and since these states are mostly democratic, they’re losing congressional districts, and, therefore electoral college votes. With the shift of population towards the typically more Republican, southern states, Republicans are gaining seats in Congress. Looking at the big picture, the Republicans definitely have an advantage, but some of the minority groups within states, such as Texas, may take some Democratic seats. The way you change the make up of Congress is through redistricting. Because of the midterm elections, Republicans are in control, so they will redistrict in their favor. This may affect the election results in the upcoming years but not drastically. Both parties take part in this as, so I guess it’s fair. They both have a chance to take control since congressional reappointment happens every ten years.
ReplyDeleteThese changes are going to give the republicans an advantage. The loss of seats is going to affect the democrats because the loss of seats is coming from the New England area but however its possible that the democrats may gain a few seats south towards the Florida area. The northeast has typically been a little more lenient to the left of the political spectrum, and they will loss some of their representation in congress. However, Texas will definitely give the Republicans an in advantage in the house. Thus the Republicans are getting stronger in the areas where they already dominate, and they are probably going to swipe a couple of democrats out of the house. The midterms can really be affected with the redistricting and gerrymandering that will take place. The Republicans hold a good deal of advantage right now with the census, and it can only help their midterms elections. Now some areas in the midterms will have to give up some incumbents who are likely to be democratic. The changes go in accordance with the game of politics. Sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose some. That is politics for you. I believe this will first affect locally how they vote, then later it affect nationally by how many seats are held in the house and in the senate. Nationally and locally we are going to see more red in the house, and possibly little more red in the senate? This will change the system to favor Republicans obviously.
ReplyDeleteThis shift will benefit the republicans because both the New England area and the Midwest have been definitely more democratic and the southern and western regions have been considerably more republican. The midterm elections decided who would be in control for the next redistricting. Since the republicans are in control now they will obviously favor themselves when the new districts are drawn. I think that although this doesn’t seem to be fair, the democrats would do it too if they had remained in control during the midterms. That’s just how politics are.
ReplyDeleteThe population gains in the south and many western states strongly benefit the Republican party. The loss of many of the seats in New England, which is known for being strongly Democratic, also benefits the Republican party. With these population shifts and the gaining of many seats in Republican districts, the Republicans will be able to secure even more power. Also, because of the 2010 census results and redistricting, the gaining of seats in not only Republican districts, but also the loss of Democrats in many democratic districts,will be taken into account during redistricting time. This redistricting will give the republicans more power, and thus secure their chances even more of being able to hold control of the House of Representatives. While I am against the Republican party, I believe that these changes are fair. The Democratic party would have done the same thing and redistricting is just one of the many things that politics is all about.
ReplyDeleteI think that the republicans will gained more power from the midterm elections and will gain even more now that they control the redistricting. They will maintain the advantage for at least the next ten years
ReplyDeleteIt should benefit Republicans more because the Midwest and New England regions typically vote democratic and the South and West Republican. The midterms decided who would have a majority of the power in redistricting. In general i believe that this will change little in our current government except make it more conservative than it has been over the past years.
ReplyDeleteBecause of the rising population in the south and west which as areas where the Reupblican party is in control of the state..and with these states receiving more electoral votes and congressional districts it obviously gives an advantage to republicans. Also it take these electorial votes away from the democrat states that once had them. Even though for the most part democrats have control over redistricting it doesnt matter and republicans will still get an advantage which is totally fair because it is just how the system works and the power shifts back and forth between parties. also i think it might have an effect on future elections.
ReplyDeleteDue to the rising population and the loss of seats in new england, the republicans will gain clear advantage of the situation. It will cause a shift in power, which everyone knew was coming anyways, so it really serves as no shock to anyone. even with clear strength in the democrats' ability to redistrict, the power shift is fair and just the run of things. with our system it goes back and forth, but all of this will really alter the party's standing in both the house and the senate.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans will get to build a stronger power with the loss of seats and gaining of the seats in different states. By the republicans getting more seats they will get a strong slide of power going into there favor. Even though the power shift is always one way or another it still seems to be fair because the system shifts the power back and forth. All this will have an impact on the number of candidates in the house and the senate and will eventually on the presidents election.
ReplyDelete