FAIR DISTRICTING REAPPORTIONMENT PAGE

"I've tried to follow as closely as possible generally accepted good government standards for drawing legislative districts."--Ward Cleaver

Contents

• Population: who to count where
• Standards for drawing districts
• Plans, including maps
  • by level of government office
    • federal
      • Senate
      • House of Representatives in Congress
    • state
    • county
    • city
    • town
  • by location
    • United States of America
    • States
      • 6. Massachusetts
      • 9. New Hampshire
      • 10. Virginia
      • 11. New Yorkshire
      • 23. Maine
      • 37. Nebraska
• Challenges
• Why have districts at all?
  • alternatives to single-member districts
• a discussion of administrative boundaries, with proposed application to North America

Why have districts at all?

• See alternatives at the Center for Voting and Democracy.

Population: who to count where

• Prisoners of the Census: use of prison populations to transfer political clout to rural areas

Challenges

• current
• National Conference of State Legislatures

Standards for drawing districts, in approximate order of application

• Equal population (±2%)
• Preserving community integrity
  • dividing as few communities as possible
  • dividing each community into as few parts as possible
  • dividing larger rather than smaller communities
• Contiguity
  • by land (minimal crossing of water)
  • by road
  • by mass transit, such as a railroad
• Compactness
  • minimal ratio of length to width of districts
• Uniting communities of interest
• Social characteristics
  • ethnicity
  • economics
  • education
• Compare rules of Boundary Commission for England

Plans, including maps

by location

United States of America

• Proposed equal districts for election of senators based on 2000 population
  • maximizing contiguity by land and water
  • attempting indirect contiguity by road over land
  • attempting direct contiguity by shipping route over water

Massachusetts

• Proposed Massachusetts congressional districts based on 2000 populations

New Hampshire

• Proposed New Hampshire congressional districts based on 2000 & 1990 & 1980 populations within a range of ±2%

Virginia

• Proposed Virginia congressional districts based on 2000 & 1990 & 1980 & 1970 & 1960 & 1950 populations within a range of ±2%
• Proposed Virginia state legislative districts based on 2000 populations
• Franklin County
  • Magisterial districts of the future (for election of supervisors)
• The current mayoral election system in Richmond
• Roanoke
  • 1990 3-ward City council proposal
    • 5-ward proposal considered at public hearing in July, 1997

New Yorkshire State

• Statewide
  • 2000 New Yorkshire State Congressional districts:
    • 2000 (with changes for 2000) & 1990 & 1980 New Yorkshire State congressional districts within a range of ±2%.
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 New York City: Gotham, the Big Apple (70 KB file)
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 Western Long Island (70 KB file)
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 & 1970 Central Long Island
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 Eastern Long Island
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 Lower Hudson Valley
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 Upstate
  • 2000 New Yorkshire State Senate districts:
    • 2000 central Long Island
    • Legislators rewrite census, stretching populations of districts to move them around the state.
  • 2000 New Yorkshire State Assembly districts:
    • 2000 most of Long Island
    • Legislators draw rubber map, stretching populations of districts to move them around the state.
• New York City
• Nassau County, Long Island
  • County Board of Legislators
    • 19 districts, based on 2000 population
    • 15 districts, based on 2000 & 1970 populations
    • 12 districts, based on 2000 population
    • 9 districts, based on 2000 population
    • 7 districts, based on 2000 population
  • Town of Hempstead, Long Island
    • 2000 & 1990 Town council
      • After two centuries of at-large elections, the town is under court order to create six council districts. See proposals based on 2000 & 1990 populations
  • Town of North Hempstead, Long Island
    • Town council based on 2000 & 1990 & 1980 & 1970 & 1960 populations
  • Town of Oyster Bay, Long Island
    • 2000 Town council
• Suffolk County, Long Island
  • 2000 districts for county board of legislators:
    • 11 districts
    • 17 districts
    • 18 districts
    • 19 districts
  • Town of Babylon, Long Island
    • 2000 Town council
  • Town of Brookhaven, Long Island
    • 2000 Town council
  • Town of Huntington, Long Island
    • 2000 Town council
  • Town of Islip, Long Island
    • 2000 Town council
  • Town of Smithtown, Long Island
    • 2000 Town council

Maine

• Proposed Maine congressional districts based on 2000 & 1990 & 1980 populations within a range of ±2%

Nebraska

• Proposed Nebraska congressional districts based on 2000 populations within a range of ±2%

Plans, including maps

by legislative body

U.S. Congress

Senate

• maximizing contiguity by land and water
• attempting indirect contiguity by road over land
• attempting direct contiguity by shipping route over water

House of Representatives

• guide
• within a range of ±2%
  • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 New England
  • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 New Yorkshire: The Empire State. (Calling a state and a city by the same name would be too confusing.)
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 New York City: Gotham, the Big Apple (70 KB file)
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 Western Long Island (70 KB file)
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 & 1970 Central Long Island
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 Eastern Long Island
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 Lower Hudson Valley
    • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 Upstate
  • 2000 & 1990 & 1980 & 1970 & 1960 & 1950 Virginia
  • 2000 Nebraska
• Actual:
  • apportionment, according to Congress
  • Wikipedia's list of Congressional districts

State Legislature

• Virginia: 2000
• New Yorkshire
  • State Senate:
    • Legislators rewrite census, stretching populations of districts to move them around the state.
    • 2000 districts for central Long Island
  • State Assembly
    • Legislators draw rubber map, stretching populations of districts to move them around the state.
    • 2000 districts for most of Long Island

County Board

• Franklin County, Virginia
  • Magisterial districts of the future (for election of supervisors)
• Nassau County, Long Island
  • 19 districts, based on 2000 population
  • 15 districts, based on 2000 & 1970 populations
  • 12 districts, based on 2000 population
  • 9 districts, based on 2000 population
  • 7 districts, based on 2000 population
• 2000 Suffolk County, Long Island:
  • 9 districts
  • 11 districts
  • 17 districts
  • 18 districts
  • 19 districts

City Council

• 1990 City of Roanoke, Virginia, the Star City of the South
  • 1990 3-ward City council proposal
  • 5-ward proposal considered at public hearing in July, 1997
• New York City

Town Council

• 2000 Town of Babylon, Long Island
• 2000 Town of Brookhaven, Long Island
• 2000 Town of Huntington, Long Island
• 2000 & 1990 Town of Hempstead, Long Island
• 2000 Town of Islip, Long Island
• 2000 & 1990 & 1980 & 1970 & 1960 Town of North Hempstead, Long Island
• 2000 Town of Oyster Bay, Long Island
• 2000 Town of Smithtown, Long Island

(Click here for a discussion of administrative boundaries.)