From Retro Report

“Every decade, states engage in redistricting – the redrawing of congressional and state legislative boundaries – after the release of new census data. This process often becomes politicized, with district lines drawn to create partisan advantages and disadvantages, a tactic known as gerrymandering.”

This short documentary (11:06) Gerrymandering Tilts Political Power. Here’s How Redistricting Affects Democracy is part of the Midterm Elections Collection focusing on historical and contemporary midterm elections; presented in partnership with Retro Report and New Hampshire Public Radio’s Civics 101 podcast. Transcript included.

Redistricting Lesson

Students will:

• Examine the role of the census in the reapportionment process.
• Analyze historic and contemporary maps to determine how the balance of power in Congress has shifted geographically over time.
• Determine the requirements for redistricting and compare how the process and requirements differ by state.Construct new Congressional maps and hypothesize how different criteria in map drawing may lead to different electoral outcomes.

Gerrymandering Lesson

Students will:

• Analyze historic and contemporary maps to determine how the balance of power in Congress has shifted over time.
• Define gerrymandering and explain how it is used.
• Analyze the intended and unintended consequences of creating Majority-Minority districts.
• Prioritize and justify the use of redistricting criteria.

Activities include a Concept application FRQ (free response question) and a SCOTUS FRQ (Shaw v. Reno and Thornburg v. Gingles).