Structure, Representation & Redistricting

Bicameral

A legislature made up of two chambers

House of Representatives

The chamber designed to represent the people as a whole, seats are divided among the states by population

Senate

The chamber designed to represent the states equally, each state has two senators

Constituency

A body of voters in a specified area who elect a representative to a legislative body

Census

The official count of the U.S. population, with details such as age, sex, and occupation, taken every ten years

Reapportionment

The distribution of the 435 House seats among the 50 states according to population

Term length

House members serve 2-year terms, senators serve 6-year terms, with 1/3 of the Senate up for election every 2 years

Term limits

Legal limits on how many terms an official can serve, members of Congress have none

Coalition

A group of members who join together to support or oppose a bill, term lengths affect how coalitions form

Redistricting

State legislatures redrawing congressional districts to reflect population changes after each census

Gerrymandering

Drawing illogical district lines to favor/hurt a specific party or group of people

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Supreme Court case ruling that redistricting is a justiciable issue courts can decide, established "one person, one vote"

One person, one vote

The principle that districts must have roughly equal populations so each vote counts equally

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Supreme Court case ruling that race can be a factor in redistricting, but districts cannot be drawn based on race alone

Majority-minority district

A district in which a racial or ethnic minority group makes up a majority of the population

Safe seat

A district in which a party consistently wins by 55%+

Swing seat

A district with closer, more competitive elections