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Redistricting Principles and Racial Representation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Jason Barabas  and
Jennifer Jerit
Jason Barabas
Affiliation:
Harvard University and Southern Illinois University
Jennifer Jerit
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University
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Abstract

How do traditional redistricting principles—contiguity, communities of interest, political subdivisions, incumbent protection, Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, preservation of district core, and compactness—affect racial minority representation in congressional districts? Using data from the 2001-02 redistricting process, we find that compactness is the only principle that significantly affects minority representation, both in terms of majority-minority districts and minority influence districts, but these effects are contingent on the size of the minority community and extent of racial segregation in a state. Two other principles, Section 5 pre-clearance and protecting political subdivisions, improve minority representation in a more limited way. Thus, race-neutral redistricting criteria like the compactness principle, can dramatically affect the racial composition of the resulting districts and, thereby, affect minority representation.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , Winter 2004 , pp. 415 - 435
Copyright
Copyright © Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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