Redistricting terms

Posted: Monday, July 30, 2001

Court cases and politicians over the years have created a set of terms unique to redistricting. Here are some of them:

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Communities of interest: Cities, counties or neighborhoods that have similar interests such as agriculture or geography such as those along the coast. Courts have said districts should be drawn to keep similar communities together.

Compactness: Districts that are not spread out. Courts have ruled districts should be as compact as possible. An extreme example of a non-compact district disallowed by the courts was the original 11th congressional seat drawn in 1991 that stretched from Atlanta to Savannah and was only as wide as the interstate highway in places.

Deviation: The amount a district's population can vary from the ideal size. Courts have ruled that congressional districts may have a deviation no greater than plus or minus 1 percent. Experts say the courts have been less specific about legislative districts, but the Legislative Redistricting Office recommends a deviation limit of plus or minus 5 percent, for a total range of 10 percent. Republicans are calling for a deviation of only 2.5 percent.

Gerrymandering: Generally the act of drawing non-compact districts with twisting boundaries for political reasons. The term goes back to Massachusetts 1812 where a district with many small offshoots was said to look like a salamander and christened Gerrymander in reference to Gov. Elbridge Gerry.

Ideal size: Every legislative district should be roughly the same size, this year 45,580 people for House districts and 146,187 for the Senate. That is determined by taking the total number of residents reported by the U.S. Census Bureau every 10 years and dividing it by 180 house seats and 56 senate seats.

Majority-minority district: Districts with a majority of their citizens from the same racial or ethnic minority. But since blacks and Hispanics tend to register to vote and turnout in lower rates than whites, the courts have determined that a district must be made up of at least 65 percent minority citizens to be considered a minority seat.

Minority-influence district: Districts where the minority population is less than 55 percent or so, where minority citizens would likely influence elections even though they might not be able to decide the outcome on their own.

Multi-member district: One district holding twice as many people as an ideal district but where two legislators are elected to separate seats. This is common in many other countries, but the practice was discouraged in the South by courts that concluded multi-member districts were designed to dilute black voting strength. Democrats argue such districts aren't illegal if blacks aren't harmed.

One man, one vote: The principle established by courts that every lawmaker represent the same number of people so each vote has the same relative effect on elections.

Packing a district: Making it more than 65 percent black or Republican to essentially prevent neighboring districts from having enough blacks or Republicans to win there.

Retrogression: Lowering the minority percentage within a district or lowering the total number of minority districts within a state. Courts have ruled that legislatures can only reduce minority voting strength in rare cases and only for very compelling policy reasons.

