scholarly journals The Wielding Influence of Political Networks: Representation in Majority-Latino Districts

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela X. Ocampo
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Congressional District ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Congressional Districts ◽  
Political Networks ◽  
The Us ◽  
Do So

Latino-majority congressional districts are far more likely to elect Latino representatives to Congress than majority-white districts. However, not all majority-Latino districts do so. This paper addresses this question, and it investigates how the level of influence of political parties and interest groups in majority-Latino districts substantially shapes Latino representation to the US House of Representatives. I rely on five case studies and a dataset of candidates to open congressional races with a Latino population plurality from 2004 to 2014. The evidence indicates that groups and political networks are critical for Latina/o candidate recruitment, the organization of resources in a congressional district, the deployment of campaign resources on behalf of certain candidates, and the eventual success of Latina/o candidates. The findings suggest that Latino descriptive and substantive representation are shaped by the wielding influence of political parties and interest groups.

Silence of the Land: On the Historical Irrelevance of Territory to Congressional Districting and Political Representation in the United States

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (01) ◽  
pp. 53-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Rehfeld
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Representative Government ◽  
Congressional District ◽  
Congressional Districts ◽  
Communities Of Interest

Every ten years, the United States “constructs” itself politically. On a decennial basis, U.S. Congressional districts are quite literally drawn, physically constructing political representation in the House of Representatives on the basis of where one lives. Why does the United States do it this way? What justifies domicile as the sole criteria of constituency construction? These are the questions raised in this article. Contrary to many contemporary understandings of representation at the founding, I argue that there were no principled reasons for using domicile as the method of organizing for political representation. Even in 1787, the Congressional district was expected to be far too large to map onto existing communities of interest. Instead, territory should be understood as forming a habit of mind for the founders, even while it was necessary to achieve other democratic aims of representative government.

Anatomy of a Cartographic Surrogate: the Portrayal of Complex Electoral Boundaries in the Congressional District Atlas

2000 ◽  
pp. 66-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Monmonier
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
State Level ◽  
Voting Rights Act ◽  
Congressional District ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Congressional Districts ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Recent Edition ◽  
Complex Boundaries

Compiled and published by the Bureau of the Census, the Congressional District Atlas describes the boundaries of the nation’s 435 congressional districts. Since its inception in 1960, the atlas has grown in length from 103 to 1,272 pages. The most noteworthy increase, between the 1987 and 1993 editions, reflects judicial pressure to equalize district population within a state as well as Department of Justice efforts to maximize the number of minority-majority districts. Single-district states like Delaware and Wyoming still consume a single printed page, and because county boundaries are documented elsewhere, a singlepage map is usually adequate for states in which district boundaries do not split counties. By contrast, non-traditional borders winding through multiple counties require numerous large-scale maps efficiently formatted as telescopically nested insets. In the most recent edition, published in two volumes in 1993, Florida and Texas individually account for more pages than the entire first edition, and North Carolina’s 12th district, which the Supreme Court ridiculed in Shaw v. Reno, stretches across 30 separate pages. Because of this parsimonious portrayal of boundaries, the atlas affords a convenient state-level descriptor of geographic complexity: the ratio of map pages to seats in the House of Representatives. Cartographic and statistical analysis of this index reveals a concentration of complex boundaries in the Southeast and other areas in which the Voting Rights Act mandates preclearance by the Justice Department. Not surprisingly, the index is a near-perfect predictor of judicial challenges to race-based redistricting

Redistricting and Electoral Competition in American Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Electoral Competition ◽  
Congressional District ◽  
Incumbency Advantage ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Congressional Districts ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Supreme Court ◽  
The Relationship

Redistricting, or the process of redrawing congressional district boundaries, can be a highly contentious and political affair. Electoral competition within districts is dependent on both of the major American political parties being evenly balanced. Therefore, redistricting can enhance or diminish competition through how it distributes partisans across districts. Indeed, politicians have used this process to manipulate boundaries in their favor for centuries. In fact, the term most commonly used for exploiting the redistricting process for partisan gain—gerrymandering—was coined in 1812 as Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry signed legislation creating a map with heavily distorted districts, one of which resembled a salamander. Thus, the portmanteau “gerry-mander” was born. The misshapen districts produced the intended effect of facilitating greater electoral success for members of the governor’s party. Throughout history, Congress, the US Supreme Court, individual states, the American electorate, and an ever-evolving political environment have all impacted the construction of district maps. Additionally, each of these factors further influences the level of electoral competition within the district. Therefore, this work seeks to outline how redistricting can directly or indirectly influence electoral competition within congressional districts. Directly, different redistricting entities (legislatures, commissions, and courts) possess different motivations and constraints when drawing district lines, which can impact competition. Indirectly, redistricting can influence voting behavior and the incumbency advantage, which can also impact competition. This work also explores the tradeoff between representation and competition, the relationship between redistricting and polarization, what constitutes a gerrymander, and how durable redistricting plans are over time. Each can have a substantial impact on electoral competition, which in turn bears consequences for our understanding of the consequences of redistricting.

scholarly journals Geographic Distribution of Foot and Ankle Orthopaedic Surgeons Throughout the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 2473011420S0008
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Matthew G. Fanelli ◽  
Coleman Cush ◽  
Benjamin Wagner ◽  
Louis C. Grandizio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Foot And Ankle ◽  
Congressional District ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Congressional Districts ◽  
The Us

Category: Other Introduction/Purpose: Orthopaedic Surgery has become increasingly subspecialized since fellowships were established in the 1970s. Previous investigations within hand and urologic surgery have demonstrated an uneven geographic distribution within these subspecialties. Economic factors can influence surgeon distribution within a particular geographic region. At present, the geographic distribution of orthopaedic foot and ankle (OFA) surgeons in the US is poorly defined. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the geographic distribution of OFA surgeons in the US. We hypothesize that there will be substantial differences in OFA surgeon density throughout the US and that economic factors may play a role in access to subspecialty OFA care. Methods: A current membership list was obtained from the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS). Active AOFAS members were categorized relative to states and US House of Representatives Congressional Districts. Using publicly available census data, we recorded the population within each state and district as well as the percentage of families and people with income below the federally defined poverty level. Descriptive statistics were utilized for demographic information. The relationship between income level and the number of surgeons was determined using a Pearson correlation. These data were used to generate OFA surgeons per capita at a state and congressional district level. This information was also used to generate choropleth maps comparing surgeon density and poverty. Results: We identified a list of 1,103 active AOFAS members with 1,311 practice addresses. There was an average of 21.2 OFA surgeons per state. There was an average of 0.38 and 0.40 OFA surgeons per 100,000 people in each state and congressional district respectively. The District of Columbia, VT, WY, and NE had the highest OFA surgeon density. WV, KY, NM, RI had the lowest density. 75 congressional districts had no OFA surgeons. There was a statistically significant negative relationship demonstrating that regions with higher levels of poverty had fewer OFA surgeons, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of -0.14, (P-value = 0.008). This relationship is further illustrated in Figure 1. Conclusion: There is wide geographic variation of OFA surgeon density throughout the US. Regions with higher levels of poverty have less access to OFA surgeons compared to regions with lower poverty levels. Understanding these trends may aid in developing both recruitment and referal strategies for complex foot and ankle care in underserved regions.

Reading the Tea Leaves: Understanding Tea Party Caucus Membership in the US House of Representatives

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (02) ◽  
pp. 245-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan T. Gervais ◽  
Irwin L. Morris
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Tea Party ◽  
Tea Leaves ◽  
Tea Party Movement ◽  
Congressional Districts ◽  
Limited Government ◽  
The Us

AbstractIn the summer of 2010, 52 Republican members of the US House of Representatives joined the newly formed Tea Party Caucus, bringing the first institutional voice to the Tea Party movement. To understand both thepolicyorientations of the organized Tea Party (in its caucus manifestation) and the institutional strength of the caucus's membership, we assess the extent to which caucus members are distinctive from their fellow Republicans in the US House of Representatives. Our results suggest that membership in the caucus is primarily driven by ideology and economics. Specifically, we find that Tea Party Caucus members are Republicans who are ideologically oriented toward limited government and lower taxes and who hail from particularly prosperous congressional districts. We find no evidence that Tea Party Caucus members serve safer districts or have greater seniority or institutional stature than their Republican colleagues who are not members of the caucus. These findings, we believe, speak not only to the nature and orientations of the Tea Party Caucus, but to the wider Tea Party movement itself.

Conceptualising party-driven movements

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-504
Author(s):  
James Muldoon ◽  
Danny Rye
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
The Us ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship

This article contributes to scholarship on the relationship between political parties and social movements by proposing the concept of ‘party-driven movements’ to understand the formation of a new hybrid model within existing political parties in majoritarian systems. In our two case studies – Momentum’s relationship with the UK Labour Party and the Bernie Sanders-inspired ‘Our Revolution’ with the US Democratic Party – we highlight the conditions under which they emerge and their key characteristics. We analyse how party-driven movements express an ambivalence in terms of strategy (working inside and outside the party), political aims (aiming to transform the party and society) and organisation (in the desire to maintain autonomy while participating within party structures). Our analysis suggests that such party-driven movements provide a potential answer to political parties’ alienation from civil society and may thus be a more enduring feature of Anglo-American majoritarian party systems than the current literature suggests.

Congressional Elections

Congress ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 78-121
Author(s):  
Benjamin Ginsberg ◽  
Kathryn Wagner Hill
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Congressional Elections ◽  
The State ◽  
Electoral Process ◽  
The Us ◽  
Do So

This chapter reviews the US congressional electoral process. It considers, in turn, the candidates, the campaigns, the voters, and the consequences of the process. Every two years, Americans elect all 435 members of the House of Representatives to serve two-year terms, and one-third of the nation's 100 senators to serve six-year terms. The Constitution imposes age, citizenship, and residency requirements for service in the Congress but no other restrictions. Senators must be 30 years of age, and House members must be at least 25. To be eligible to serve in the Senate an individual must have been a US citizen for nine years, while service in the House requires an individual to have been a citizen for seven years. To be eligible for election, both senators and House members must be residents of the state they serve. House members are not constitutionally required to reside in their own districts, though virtually all find it politically expedient to do so.

Political Parties and the Organization of Congress

Congress ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 122-151
Author(s):  
Benjamin Ginsberg ◽  
Kathryn Wagner Hill
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Organizational Structure ◽  
Internal Structure ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
The Us ◽  
Speaker Of The House

This chapter discusses the organization of the US Congress. It argues that in order to actually govern, Congress has been forced to develop an elaborate internal structure consisting of leadership positions, committees, subcommittees, and other entities. Without this organizational structure Congress could not play much of a role in government, no matter how representative an institution it might be. The Constitution creates two congressional leadership posts—Speaker of the House of Representatives and president pro tempore of the Senate. Every other element of congressional organization and leadership, including the committee system, was established by the Congress itself. The key actors in building and maintaining Congress's organizational structure are America's political parties.

scholarly journals Shapes Determine Elections

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika L. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
School Board ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
The Political ◽  
Unfair Advantage ◽  
State Legislative ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Do So

When we elect representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives (or to state legislative bodies, or even the school board), we do so by dividing people into districts, and having each district elect one representative. The districts we draw as shapes on maps can affect the outcome of the elections. As a result, the process of creating or changing districts and the shapes we draw to create them are important. After every census, each state must construct a new district map. When they do that unfairly, it can give an unfair advantage to one of the political parties. This is called gerrymandering. By looking at the shapes of districts and examining their compactness, we can start to detect fair and unfair district maps.

Forging the Franchise

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Langan Teele
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Strategic Alliances ◽  
National Level ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Competitive Environments ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Massive Change ◽  
Political Emancipation ◽  
Women’S Preferences ◽  
Do So

In the 1880s, women were barred from voting in all national-level elections, but by 1920 they were going to the polls in nearly thirty countries. What caused this massive change? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it was not because of progressive ideas about women or suffragists' pluck. In most countries, elected politicians fiercely resisted enfranchising women, preferring to extend such rights only when it seemed electorally prudent and necessary to do so. This book demonstrates that the formation of a broad movement across social divides, and strategic alliances with political parties in competitive electoral conditions, provided the leverage that ultimately transformed women into voters. As the book shows, in competitive environments, politicians had incentives to seek out new sources of electoral influence. A broad-based suffrage movement could reinforce those incentives by providing information about women's preferences, and an infrastructure with which to mobilize future female voters. At the same time that politicians wanted to enfranchise women who were likely to support their party, suffragists also wanted to enfranchise women whose political preferences were similar to theirs. In contexts where political rifts were too deep, suffragists who were in favor of the vote in principle mobilized against their own political emancipation. Exploring tensions between elected leaders and suffragists and the uncertainty surrounding women as an electoral group, the book sheds new light on the strategic reasons behind women's enfranchisement.

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