The House of Representatives and the Redistricting Process

Overview of the House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two legislative bodies that make up the United States Congress.
It is categorized as the body that is proportionally elected.
Proportionality implies that the number of representatives assigned to a state is directly related to the population of that state; states with more people receive more representatives in the House.
A visual reference to the House chamber, captured in a 19th-century lithograph, illustrates the historical significance of the body.

The House as a Terminal Body

The House of Representatives is often referred to in "fancy language" as a terminal body.
This designation comes from the fact that the entire chamber—every single seat—is up for election every two years.
Quantitatively, all $435$ members of the House must seek election or re-election every two years.
This cycle defines the numbering of Congress. For example, the "Hundredth Congress" signifies that there have been $100$ cycles of electing the entire body since the system began, spanning approximately $200$ years.
Because it is a terminal body, the House has very specific start and end dates for its sessions.

House vs. Senate: Terminal vs. Continual Bodies

Unlike the House, the Senate is a continual body.
Only one-third ( $1/3$ ) of the Senate is elected every two years because Senators serve six-year terms.
Senators are divided into three groups known as Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 to stagger their elections.
This structure ensures institutional memory, preventing the entire Senate from being replaced at any single point in time.
At the founding, the first Senate used staggered terms to establish this rotation; however, theoretically, the House could be entirely replaced with new people every two years, even if this rarely happens in practice.

Size, the Census, and Reapportionment

The number of representatives in the House is currently fixed at $435$ .
Historically, as more states were added to the Union, the number of representatives increased accordingly.
In $1929$ , the number of seats was capped at $435$ . This occurred one year before the $1930$ census.
A census is conducted every $10$ years (e.g., $1930, 1940, 1950$ ) to count the population of the United States.
Although the population of the country and the number of people each representative serves have grown significantly since $1929$ , the number of members in the chamber has remained constant.
Districts are drawn based on the total number of people counted in the census, not just citizens. This includes:
- Citizens.
- Non-citizens.
- Elderly individuals.
- Children who are too young to vote.

Constituent Representation and Case Study

House members represent a specific geographic area, and they are intended to serve everyone living within those boundaries.
Case Study/Anecdote: A student at the University of Texas at Austin once approached a professor regarding a family member who had been detained due to an expired visa.
- Even though the student was not a citizen, the professor advised them to contact their House representative.
- Because the student lived on the UT Austin campus, they resided within a specific House district.
- The representative for that geographic area is responsible for looking into such matters for anyone living there, regardless of citizenship status.

Age Thresholds for Federal Office

There are three specific age thresholds required to serve in the United States government:
- House of Representatives: A minimum of $25$ years old.
- Senate: A minimum of $30$ years old.
- President: A minimum of $35$ years old.
Historical Context: These ages were established in a world before antibiotics when life expectancy was often around $40$ . By age $25$ , an individual was typically settled in a profession, married, and owned property.
In contrast, the age requirement for the state legislature in Texas is younger, approximately $21$ .

Special Powers of the House of Representatives

The House was designed to be "closer to the people" than the Senate, evidenced by the fact that members are elected every two years from smaller local districts.
Due to this proximity, the House holds specific special powers:
- Origination of Revenue: The House originates all tax bills. The framers intended for any legislation regarding taxation or revenue to start in the chamber closest to the people. (There is one exception to be discussed later).
- Bringing Impeachment Charges: The House has the power to impeach the president, judges, or other national officials for improper behavior.

The Impeachment and Removal Process

Impeachment is often associated with the president, though judges are actually impeached more frequently.
The House of Representatives acts as the body that brings the charges. They conduct hearings and require a majority vote to impeach an official.
Once an official is impeached by the House, there is no way to "un-impeach" them; the charge is permanent.
The Senate is responsible for the impeachment trial. They serve as the jury.
The House sends a team to present the case to the Senate.
The Senate decides whether to remove the official from power.
If the Senate votes to remove, the removal is instantaneous. The official cannot even clean out their desk.
If the Senate votes against removal, the official returns to their job and continues serving, although they remain "impeached" by historical record.

Redistricting and State Legislatures

Every $10$ years, following the census, congressional seats are redesigned to reflect population shifts. Each district currently represents well over $700,000$ people.
When a state gains or loses seats based on population, the state legislature is responsible for redrawing the district lines (redistricting).
This process is highly political. Whichever party controls the state legislature (Republicans or Democrats) will draw the lines to favor their own party—a practice known as maximizing party advantage.
Most states use the legislature to draw lines; one state uses a commission, though the legislature appoints that commission.

Gerrymandering: Definitions and Tactics

Gerrymandering is defined as redrawing a district line to give a specific advantage to a party or a candidate.
Etymology: The term comes from Elbridge Gerry, a House member and founding father from Massachusetts. He had a district drawn in a shape that favored his re-election. Critics noted the district looked like a salamander. They combined "Gerry" and "salamander" to create "Gerrymander."
While actively gerrymandering is illegal in many contexts, districts are still drawn to favor certain interests.
District Rules: Districts must be contiguous, meaning all pieces of the district must touch each other.
Example: A district in Illinois is shaped like "wired headphones" because it had to connect two separate population centers through a thin line to remain contiguous.

Specific Manipulation Tactics in Redistricting

Safe Seats / Safe Districts: This occurs when a district is drawn so heavily in favor of one party (Republican or Democrat) that it is virtually certain the other party cannot win without extraordinary circumstances.
Cracking: This involves taking a population center that favors one party and "slicing" it like a pie or a pizza.
- Example: The city of Austin, Texas, is a dominant Democratic area. The Republican-controlled state legislature "cracked" Austin into slivers and attached each piece to a larger, strongly Republican rural area, thereby watering down the Democratic vote.
Packing: This involves pushing a specific group of voters all together into a single district to minimize their overall representation across several districts.
- Example: Notable "packed" districts that have faced federal court challenges include those in Illinois, North Carolina, and Louisiana. The Illinois district mentioned previously is a clear example of pushing two separate groups into one district just to give up one seat rather than two or three.