US Government

19th amendment

Gave women the right to vote

Minority Whip

Katherine Clark

Two Houses of Congress

Senate and House of Reps

What does the Voting Rights Act of 1965 do?

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 froze in place other voting laws in 6 southern states. Any changes to these laws would need to be approved by the Department of Justice.

What was the purpose of these preclearance requirements?

The purpose was to ensure that racial minorities in the South wouldn't be discriminated against.

C/B- Legislative Branch

can impeach officials, confirms justices, can override a veto

Delegated Powers

powers granted to the national government under the United States Constitution (ex. the power to coin money, regulate commerce, declare war, raise and maintain armed forces, establish a post office)

# in Senate; term

100; 6 years

# of Court of Appeals

13

# of Reps

435; 2 years

Percent to pass a bill in house of reps

218

# of electors needed to win presidency

270

House Minority Leader

Hakeen Jeffries

Based on the clip, where has population growth been in Texas? What role have demographics played in this redistricting process?

It's been broad against the board, but mainly in urban areas where there has been an increase in people of color. Demographics plays a role in the redistricting process because before there had been no redistricting in favor of making Hispanics a majority which would've allowed them to elect candidates of their choice. Even though they have increased the population, they don't get much of a say.

Chief Justice

John Roberts

Describe the ruling in Shelby County v. Holder. What were Chief Justice Roberts' arguments in his majority opinion?

John Roberts opposed this because he thought localities should be able to set their own policies rather than the federal government. He wrote that things had changed in the South and they no longer had racial problems and shouldn't be singled out.

Speaker of the House

Kevin McCarthy

House Majority Leader

Steve Scalise

What role may the courts play in this redistricting cycle?

Texas has been taken to court every single decade over their redistricting cycle. Texas will continue to be challenged if they don't start including more Hispanics and people of color.

MIdterm Elections

The congressional elections that take place midway through a president's four-year term.

According to Dave Wasserman, what are the major population trends indicated by the 2020 Census?

The major population trends indicated by the 2020 census shows a more diverse and urban population. Rural America is declining due to the cities and suburbs. This is good news for democrats. Republicans get to draw the state lines for 20 states which is more than twice as many districts as democrats.

Majority Whip

Tom Emmer

balance of sovereignty

big controversy...state vs federal state- election laws -> violation of constitution because states take away voting rights -> congress passes the voting acts federal- 1940s-1960s constitutional amendments

C/B- Judicial Branch

can overturn executive orders, can put impeached officials on trial (try)

easier to limit debates

house of reps due to time limits

Gerrymandering

manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.

jim crow

racial segregation laws that stopped blacks from voting (literary tests, the grandfather clause)

first state to give women voting rights

wyoming

Percent to pass a bill in senate

51/100

Senate Majority Leader

Chuck Shumer

Journey of Bill

Committee to be studied -- voted on by house -- if yes, goes to senate -- if yes -- president/executive -- if no -- back to legislative

Legislative Branch

house and senate (congress), makes laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce, controls taxing and spending policies

Based on the clip, which political party/parties may benefit from this redistricting process? Why?

The republicans may benefit because they get to draw state lines for 2o states. This will help them get twice as many districts because they can put the state lines in places favorable to their party.

According to James Barragán, what is the process for redistricting in Texas?

They are going through a 30 day special legislative session where they will draw new maps for the state house, state senate, the congressional seats, and for the state board of education.

Denied Powers

powers denied to a nation/state gov. branches to maintain balance and fairness (change state boundaries, tax state exports)

24th Amendment

Abolishes poll taxes

Filibuster

A practice in the Senate where a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays or prevents a vote on a controversial issue.

Qualifications to be President

35 years old, natural born citizen, live in the US 14 years

# of Supreme Court justices

9

# of District Courts

94

NJ Senators

Cory Booker and Bob Menendez

Our State Rep

Donald Norcross

For state legislative maps, what is the redistricting process?

For state housing, the maps are drawn by a 5 member panel (2 republican leaders, 2 democratic leaders, and one person appointed by their supreme court).

Based on the clip, what is the Congressional redistricting process in Pennsylvania and what roles do the legislature and Governor play?

For the congressional map, the republicans are working on maps that they will put out to be passed. However, they have a democratic governor and he has to sign a bill in order for it to go into effect.

What are the reasons for concern about the the ways in which gerrymandering can impact election results?

Gerrymandering can impact election results because either party can redraw their maps in ways to have the election favor them. They can push the state lines to where they want so that they gain more votes for the electoral college. Hopefully, if something like this happens where it is very unfair, it is taken to court where it can be resolved. Gerrymandering can extremely affect the electoral college because districts can be changed to help majorities rather than minorities leaving them with no say.

voting rights act of 1965

gave everyone the right to vote...states choose HOW to vote

Senate Minority Leader

Mitch McConnell

What can cause a popular vote and electoral vote to be different?

More people can vote for a certain person causing the popular vote to rise. However, a state's population is what determines their number of electoral votes which chooses if the state is red or blue overall.

Based on the clip, has Pennsylvania had issues with gerrymandering before? What happened?

PA has been accused of gerrymandering before. In 2018, the courts said that the republicans had very much drawn the map in their advantage and it was very unbalanced. Their state house and senate maps were also thrown out in 2011-2012 during redistricting because it was unconstitutional because they had split too many districts in unconstitutional ways.

According to Sarah Anne Hughes, why is Pennsylvania losing a Congressional seat? Where is the biggest shift of population?

PA is losing a seat because the population didn't grow as quickly as the population in other states. The biggest shift happened everywhere besides the Southeast and South central areas. Basically everywhere that's not a suburb of PA.

What does Wasserman say about political polarization and the potential for gerrymandering?

Political/geographical polarization is occurring because more people are moving states if they are unhappy with the politics. This plays into redistricting because if a state was 50/50, it would be impossible for partisans to gerrymander the state into heavily red or blue. But, if there's a polarized red/blue state, it's easier to compartmentalize democrats and republicans into districts where the outcomes are pre ordained. This means there will be fewer competitive districts.

What is meant by preclearance? What were the preclearance requirements built into the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

Preclearance required certain states that had a history of discrimination to have any sort of election change cleared by the Justice Department before it took effect.

Where does Hughes say the Congressional seat may be lost, and what role may the courts have?

She sees it being lost in the Southwest because he is a democrat in a Trump heavy district. There has also been population loss there. Also in the NE, there's a lot of population lost. Both the democrats and republicans have a seat there. The legislature and the governor will not ultimately decide where the seat is removed. Instead it will be brought to court and they are going to decide where the seat comes from.

What instrument determines redistricting numbers and how often does this process occur?

The census helps determine the redistricting numbers. The redistricting is based on population, so the government refers to the census to see how much the population has grown or decreased. This is done every 10 years.

What does Barragán say about the proposed redistricting maps and the Voting Rights Act?

There are little opportunities for Hispanics. Texas is racially gerrymandering which isn't allowed. There are also no more black majority districts.

What is the timeline and process for both tracks? What role does the public play in each?

There are public hearings for both maps, then maps are being drawn and figured out behind closed doors, and then they wait for the legislature to release draft plans to the public. The public can input their ideas through public hearings for both tracks.

Describe the events and actions that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

There was violence in Alabama.

Why were certain states specifically included in this law? (voting rights act)

There were many minorities in the South and Southern states always found a way to exclude minorities from voting.

C/B- Executive Branch

can veto legislation made by congress, can pass executive orders, can appoint supreme court justices

Executive Branch

carries out + enforces laws. includes pres, vice pres, cabinet, executive departments, independent agencies, boards, commission, committees

Judicial Branch

decides if laws are constitutional, resolves disputes about laws. supreme court

voting through years

first only White male land owners, then all white males, then 1890 men of all races could vote (15th amendment),

Electoral College

formally elect president by casting votes for the election of the president and vice president. The electors are chosen by political parties

Implied Powers

powers not written in the constitution, but just assumed base on previous power

Concurrent Powers

powers shared by the state and federal governments

Reserved Powers

powers that the Constitution does not give to the national government that are kept by the states

Arguments opposing the Shelby County v. Holder ruling.

still discrimination in respect to voting, black voters face barriers, lawyers document discrimination that voters still face, section 5 protected voters prior to election day rather than section 3 which helps after. can't make up voting, supreme court struck down coverage formula which determined when the justice department had to pre clear certain districts that had a history of suppression and new voting laws had to be pre cleared before implemented., hundreds of suppressive voting laws passed in over half of US states, thousands of voter licenses being challenged, restrictive voting id requirements polling place closures and consolidation can be a tactic for disenfranchising voters of color, older people, and disabled people, thousands of polling places were closed without section 5, closures happening to prevent people of color from voting, makes it harder and almost impossible to vote

Arguments in favor of the Shelby County v. Holder ruling.

systematic discrimination between whites and blacks, thought racism in the south had changed and was in the past, Obama had been elected, blacks vote and are registered, voting acts right was unconstitutional, sovereignty should remain in the states, constitution includes equal sovereignty among all states, wanted the states to keep to themselves and regulate own elections, drastic departure of principles of federalism, only when a state doesn't listen to commandments, then federal law can step in, higher black voter registration in discriminatory states than rest of country, black elected leaders in discriminatory states, discrimination doesn't exist and is rare, Obama has been in control of gov, if discrimination is there, section 3 to solve problem and a judge can order preclearance