"The location of district lines decide which voters vote for which representative

Sample Solution

To what extent should legislators use race when redistricting?

Legislators should not use race as a primary factor in redistricting. Race-based redistricting can be used to create districts that are overwhelmingly black or minority, which can dilute the voting power of black and minority voters in other districts. This can violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

However, race can be used as a factor in redistricting to ensure that black and minority voters have an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. This is known as race-conscious redistricting. Race-conscious redistricting is legal, but it must be narrowly tailored to achieve its goal of ensuring racial fairness.

Full Answer Section

Does Gerrymandering undermine democracy by letting legislators, who are supposed to be democratically elected, choose their voters instead?

Yes, gerrymandering undermines democracy by letting legislators choose their voters instead. Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing district lines in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage. This can be done by packing voters of one party into a few districts, or by cracking them across many districts.

Gerrymandering can make it more difficult for voters to elect candidates of their choice. It can also discourage people from voting, because they may feel that their vote doesn't matter if the district is already gerrymandered.

What reforms in redrawing the district lines, would make the legislature more representative?

There are a number of reforms that could be made to redistricting to make the legislature more representative. One reform is to create an independent redistricting commission. An independent redistricting commission is a group of nonpartisan citizens who are responsible for drawing district lines. This would help to ensure that district lines are drawn in a fair and impartial way.

Another reform is to use more objective criteria in drawing district lines. Some objective criteria that could be used include:

• Population equality: Districts should have roughly the same population.
• Contiguity: Districts should be contiguous, meaning that they should be in one piece.
• Compactness: Districts should be compact, meaning that they should not be spread out over a large area.

These criteria would help to ensure that district lines are drawn in a way that is fair and that does not give any one political party an unfair advantage.

It is important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the problem of redistricting. The best reforms will vary depending on the specific circumstances of each state. However, the reforms outlined above are a good starting point for making redistricting more fair and representative.