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I shall post videos, graphs, news stories, and other material there. We shall use some of this material in class, and you may review the rest at your convenience. You will all receive invitations to post to the blog. (Please let me know if you do not get such an invitation.) I encourage you to use the blog in these ways:
To post questions or comments about the readings before we discuss them in class;
To follow up on class discussions with additional comments or questions.
To post relevant news items or videos.

There are only two major limitations: no coarse language, and no derogatory comments about people at the Claremont Colleges.


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Sunday, January 27, 2019

"Packing" Democrats: Gerrymandering in Alabama

The gerrymandering section of the Davidson reading reminded me of a Washington Post article that was written after Doug Jones won his senate race against Roy Moore in the 2017 Alabama special election. In this article, Christopher Ingraham notes that if the election results were divided into Alabama congressional districts, Jones would only have been elected in one out of seven of the state's districts. This article reflects the concept of "packing" explored in the Davidson reading. In this case, the Alabama legislature, led by Republicans, packed the state's populations that are more likely to vote for Democrats, namely Black voters, into the seventh district.

Attached below are a photo from Ingraham's article and another showing how packing impacts representation in the House. With an independent redistricting committee, the Alabama delegation could see one or two addition House seats go to Democratic Party. Independent redistricting would also likely increase the representation of Black House members, based on the demographics of the state's Democratic Party.




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