Redistricting/Gerrymandering

Minority-Majority Districts

A district whose boundaries are drawn so as to maximize the voting power of minority groups.

Marginal Districts

Political districts in which candidates elected to the House of Representatives win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote

Shaw v Reno

The Court ruled that although it was a legitimate goal for state legislatures to take race into account when they draw electoral districts in order ot increase the voting strength of minorities, they may not make race the sole reason for drawing district lines.

Incumbents / Incumbency

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

Redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

Reapportionment

a new apportionment (especially a reallotment of congressional seats in the United States on the basis of census results)

Tribalism

a situation in which people feel greater allegiance and loyalty to their own ethnic group than to a state as a whole

Safe Districts

districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55 percent or more.

Gerrymandering

drawing the boundaries of legislative districts in bizarre or unusual shapes to favor one party

Malaportionment

Any legislative district where one group has significantly more influence than another such as when voting districts are unevenly spread out across a population to influence one political party over another