Losing Congressional Representatives Need Los Ang
Mapmakers (and geography) are crucial to the process of creating voting districts. The creation of a new congressional district, or the loss of an old one, affects every district around it, necessitating new maps. Even states not adding or losing congressional representatives need new district maps that reflect the population shifts within their borders, so that residents are equally represented no matter where they live. This ritual carving and paring of the United States into 435 sovereign units, known as redistricting, was intended by the Framers solely to keep democracy’s electoral scales balanced. Instead, redistricting today has become a part of the political game. The Redistricting Game is a fun interactive way to investigate the importance of the redistricting process. This game will show you how the process can be manipulated, and if you understand local demographics and voting patterns, subtle shifts in the district borders can swing elections. Many countries struggle with how to allocate democratic representation within their territories. This example is from the United States, but it is not a unique phenomenon.
1. In Mission 1 the goal is Population Equality. This means:
a. Similar numbers of homes in each district
b. Similar numbers of people in each district
c. Similar percentages of ethnic/racial groups in each district
d. Similar percentages of economic wealth in each district
2. In Mission 1, what always gets the Representatives really mad?
a. Moving the lines so the population goes down in their district
b. Moving the lines so the Representative’s home in someone else’s district
c. Moving the lines so that the percentage of the opposite party’s voters rises
d. Moving the lines so that the Representative’s territory becomes smaller
3. In Mission 1, once you have completed the basic requirement of the mission you will see what next to the representative?
a. A green check
b. A blue check
c. A red check
d. The words “Good Job!”
4. In Mission 1, once you have completed the basic requirement of the mission you now must get feedback to see if your new districts will be approved. Who is not consulted?
a. State Legislators
b. State Governor
c. District Voters
d. State Supreme Court
5. In Mission 1 click on the “Learn More” tab, which of these is NOT one of the three most fundamental concepts of redistricting?
a. Compactness
b. Contiguity
c. Population Equality
d. Voter Distribution Pattern
6. In the “Quotes” tab from Mission 1, who said the following?
“[Democrats] get to rip off the public in the states where they control and protect their incumbents, and [Republicans] get to rip off the public in the states [where they] control and protect [their] incumbents, so the public gets ripped off in both circumstances. In the long run, there’s a downward spiral of isolation.”
a. John Cornyn (Senator R-TX)
b. John Engler (former Governor, R-MI)
c. Newt Gingrich (Former House Speaker R-GA)
d. Barak Obama (President, D)
7. Mission 2 is about how to change the party affiliation of a representative through manipulating the district boundaries (gerrymandering). When you begin the game, what number is blinking?
The new ratio to be achieved is
a. The percentages of Democrats in a Republican’s distract.
b. The percentage of Republicans in a Democrats district.
c. The population number in a Democrats district.
d. The percentage of Republicans won in a Republican’s district.
8. According to the Mission 2 “Learn More” tab, which of the following is the most likely way to achieve Mission 2’s goals of favoring one party over the other?
a. Cracking
b. Packing
c. Both Cracking and Packing
d. Neither “Cracking” nor “Packing”
9. On the Mission 2 “Quotes” tab, the following is included:
“It used to be that the idea was, once every two years voters elected their representatives, and now, instead, it’s every ten years the representatives choose their constituents.”
a. True
b. False
10. What is “Bipartisan” about the goal of Mission 3?
a. The parties work together to ensure that the incumbents of both parties are safe and won’t be challenged.
b. The parties work together to ensure 55% majority for each party incumbent.
c. The parties work together to ensure that the uncertainty of new candidates and new emerging constituencies are mitigated.
d. All of the above.
e. None of the above.
11. As you begin Mission 3, what is the reason given for acting in a “Bipartisan” way?
a. Your approval ratings are below 35%.
b. You hold your seat by a narrow margin.
c. To protect yourself from allegations of corruption
d. It was a primary piece of your campaign promises.
12. The Voting Rights Act explored in Mission 4 is intended to protect
a. racial minorities.
b. language minorities.
c. religious minorities.
d. A and B
e. A and C
f. A, B, and C
13. In Mission 4, the primary means of ensuring legislative representation to minorities is through:
a. Cracking
b. Packing
c. Both Cracking and Packing
d. Neither “Cracking” nor “Packing”
14. Mission 4’s “Quotes” tab includes the following statement by Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga):
“I don’t object to polarization if it achieves an objective.”
a. True
b. False
15. In Mission 5, on Reform, the challenge is to build your districts without considering the party affiliation of the voters. On the “Learn More” tab a number of states who have attempted reform are discussed. Which of the following is a state with independent redistricting commissions?
a. Arkansas
b. Colorado
c. Minnesota
d. New Jersey
e. Oregon
http://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2013/nov/walls#intro
This is an in-depth, multimedia interactive that explores the political, economic, and cultural implications of borders that are heavily fortified or militarized. Not all of these borders are political; in Brazil it explores the walls that separate different socioeconomic groups and in Northern Ireland it looks at walls dividing religious groups. Walls may seem like a worthwhile investment but rarely address the underlying tension that made separation seem desirable, and thus may be just postponing a problem rather than solving one. Thus, the overarching questions are these: Why are we building these walls to divide us? What are the impacts of these barriers?
1. According to the Guardian’s Our Walled World, how many miles of walls were built between countries in the last decade alone?
a. 2,000 miles
b. 4,000 miles
c. 6,000 miles
d. 8,000 miles
e. 10,000 miles
2. How many walls are highlighted on this website?
a. 5
b. 10
c. 15
d. 20
e. 25
3. According to this website, how long is the wall separating the United States from Mexico?
a. 155 miles
b. 310 miles
c. 345 miles
d. 1700 miles
4. Which country has the longest wall?
a. India
b. US
c. Morocco
d. Korea
e. Israel
5. How many of the individuals highlighted in the section on the US-Mexico wall lived in the United States at the time this story was published?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3
e. 4
6. What two countries now split the territories traditionally inhabited by the Saharawis?
a. Mauritania and Western Sahara
b. Morocco and Algeria
c. Algeria and Western Sahara
d. Morocco and Mauritania
e. Western Sahara and Morocco
7. What country has the Saharawis refugee camp mentioned in the story?
a. Algeria
b. Mauritania
c. Morocco
d. Western Sahara
8. Which is NOT a walled Alawite district in the Syrian city of Homs?
a. Akrama
b. Al-Zahra
c. Bab Amru
d. Nuzha
e. Wadi Aldahab
9. Felani became famous because_________________.
a. he was a migrant who was filmed being severely beaten. These images went viral in social media and caused the Indian government great embarrassment.
b. he successfully sued the Indian government for damages caused by the loss of his fields, which lay on the other side of the fence from his home.
c. she was killed as she crossed over the fence. Her death on the fence became of the symbol of the inequality associated with the forced separation of Bangladesh from India.
d. she led the protests to the fence that brought millions of Bangladeshis to the border. These protests ended up destroying almost 300 miles of the fence.
10. The wealthy Brazilian residents of the 16 condominiums of Alphaville are protected from their poor neighbors by
a. 18 miles of walls.
b. 200 security guards.
c. security gates reminiscent of airports.
d. All of the above
e. None of the above
11. Living in the condominiums is likened to living in
a. Beverley Hills.
b. Heaven.
c. Panem (Hunger Games).
d. The Truman Show.
e. The Twilight Zone.
12. The young Catholics of Belfast discussed by the Catholic community worker Ray Grant have little to no contact with the Protestant children who live on the other side of the “peace walls.”
a. True
b. False
13. To migrate from North Korea to South Korea Oh Sheyek
a. had to cross minefields.
b. crossed through the Rimjingang River.
c. went through China and then on to South Korea.
d. became a soldier and crossed the DMZ with his partner when on patrol.
14. The 7.5 miles of border wall in Spain _______________.
a. separates Spain from Morocco to deter migration from Africa
b. cuts off a mountain pass between Spain and Andorra
c. surrounds a Basque community known for separatist sentiments
d. surrounds a huge detention center built by the EU to house illegal migrants prior to deportation
15. What is not similar between the walls discussed in Greece and Northern Ireland?
a. Both run through urban areas.
b. Both separate divergent religious communities.
c. Both separate two national groups.
d. Both use barbed wire as the primary material separating the spaces.