Government-gerrymandering and the electoral college
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
electoral college
answer
A group of people representing each state who cast their state's portion of votes to elect the president and vice president.
question
number of electors
answer
the number of congressmen. 1 elector for each district
question
what kind of democracy do we have?
answer
an indirect democracy
question
How is are electors chosen?
answer
States have lists or sets of electors (a democratic/republican list)
question
how many votes does oregon get?
answer
7
question
the number of electoral votes each state gets is
answer
proportional to its population
question
how does a candidate win a state?
answer
the candidate who wins the most votes get all the states' electoral votes. (winner takes all)
question
how many electoral votes are there?
answer
538 (same as people in congress)
question
who casts electoral votes?
answer
electors
question
how many votes do you need to win?
answer
270 (majority)
question
which two states do not do winner takes all?
answer
Nebraska and Maine
question
what is the influence of winner takes all elections?
answer
-under representation of minority voters -candidates change their campaign to pander to specific groups of swing states
question
battleground states (swing states)
answer
states in which no single candidate/party has a secure lead or advantage
question
why do elections focus on battleground states?
answer
because they present the best opportunity to gain more electoral votes
question
winning an election: popular vote vs. electoral vote
answer
a candidate can win the election with electoral votes, but lose the popular vote.
question
what are the battleground states?
answer
ohio, florida, colorado, virginia, wisconsin
question
what are alternative to the electoral college system? (nebraska and maine)
answer
each congressional district decides by popular vote who to give their electoral vote to. remaining two electoral votes go to state wide winner.
question
gerrymandering
answer
the manipulation of district lines to protect or change political power
question
what is the significance of gerrymandering?
answer
gerrymandering is intended to manipulate district lines to establish an advantage for one party.
question
redistricting
answer
when (after a census) the boundaries of state congressional districts are redrawn to adjust for population growth
question
what is the importance of redistricting?
answer
-redistricting is supposed to fulfill the constitutional guarantee that each voter has an equal say -it affects political power (which parties control what) -
question
packing
answer
drawing district lines and packing your opponents into as few districts as possible
question
cracking
answer
taking one district and cracking it into multiple (the opposite of packing)
question
what are some solutions to gerrymandering?
answer
-independent commissions to draw lines -shortest split line method (math) -bipartisan commission -proportional gerrymandering/embrace it
question
electoral college vote
answer
the number of electoral votes you got from winner take all states (determines pres and vp)
question
popular vote
answer
the number of people who actually voted for you
