Description
Book SynopsisRadical redistricting plans, such as that pushed through by Texas governor Rick Perry in 2003, are frequently used for partisan purposes. Perry's plan sent twenty-one Republicans (and only eleven Democrats) to Congress in the 2004 elections. Such heavy-handed tactics strike many as contrary to basic democratic principles. In Drawing the Lines, Nicholas R. Seabrook uses a combination of political science methods and legal studies insights to investigate the effects of redistricting on U.S. House elections. He concludes that partisan gerrymandering poses far less of a threat to democratic accountability than conventional wisdom would suggest.
Building on a large data set of the demographics of redrawn districts and subsequent congressional elections, Seabrook looks less at the who and how of gerrymandering and considers more closely the practical effects of partisan redistricting plans. He finds that the redrawing of districts often results in no detrimental effect for d
Trade Review
Professor Seabrook's Drawing the Lines is a provocative analysis that merits serious study. In this book, he challenges strongly rooted beliefs about redistricting and the conduct of elections in general.
* Congress & the Presidency *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Perceptions and Misperceptions of Partisan Redistricting 1. A Theory of Constrained Redistricting
2. The Unrealized Precedent of Davis v. Bandemer 3. Second-Order Challenges and the Rise of Mid-Decade Redistricting
4. Winning the Future? Redistricting and Partisan Bias 5. Redistricting, Electoral Responsiveness, and Democracy Conclusion: Implications for Redistricting Reform
