Political Battle over Congressional Redistricting

John Engler, former Governor of Michigan, once claimed that redistricting is one of the purest actions a legislative body can take. Academicians and political leaders alike, however, have regularly debated the ideal way by to redistrict national and state legislatures. Rather than being the pure process that Governor Engler envisioned, redistricting has led to repeated court battles waged on such traditional democratic values as one person, one vote, and minority rights. Instead of being an opportunity to help ensure maximum representation for the citizens, the process has become a cat and mouse game in many states with citizen representation seemingly the farthest idea from anyone's mind. From a purely political perspective, those in power in the state legislature at the time of redistricting largely act like they have unilateral authority to do as they please. In this volume, contributors discuss why such an assumption is concerning in the modern political environment.

William J. Miller is assistant professor of public administration at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida. He received his doctorate in 2010 in public administration and urban studies from The University of Akron along with a master's degree in applied politics (campaign management and polling). He had previously earned his B.A. from the Ohio University Honors Tutorial College and an M.A. in political science also from Ohio. He is the editor of Tea Party Effects on 2010 U.S. Senate Elections: Stuck in the Middle to Lose (Lexington 2012), Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Public Administration & Policy (McGraw Hill 2012), The Battle to Face Obama: The 2012 Republican Nomination and the Future of the Republican Party (Lexington Forthcoming), The Tea Party in 2012: The Party Rolls On (Lexington Forthcoming), and Handbook on Teaching and Learning in Political Science and International Relations (Edward Elgar Forthcoming). His research appears in Journal of Political Science Education, Journal of Political Marketing, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, International Studies Quarterly, Nonproliferation Review, Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, American Behavioral Scientist, PS: Political Science and Politics and Journal of Common Market Studies. Jeremy D. Walling is associate professor of political science at Southeast Missouri State University. He received his Ph.D. in 2005 from the University of Kansas and his M.P.A. from Missouri State University in 1998. He studies American national institutions, state politics and intergovernmental relations, and public administration ethics and accountability. He was co-editor (with William J. Miller) of Tea Party Effects on 2010 U.S. Senate Elections: Stuck in the Middle To Lose (Lexington Books) and Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Public Administration and Policy (McGraw-Hill). Book chapters have been published in The Battle to Face Obama: The 2012 Republican Nomination (Lexington), Teaching Politics Beyond the Book (Continuum), and The Constitutionalism of American States (University of Missouri Press). His work has also appeared in The Handbook of Administrative Ethics and Public Personnel Management, both with H. George Frederickson.

Chapter One: Tom and Gerry? The Cat and Mouse Game of Congressional Redistricting, William J. Miller Chapter Two: Utah: Pizza Slices, Doughnut Holes, and One-Party Dominance, Adam R. Brown Chapter Three: Incumbency, Influence, and Race: Redistricting, South Carolina Style, Christopher N. Lawrence and Scott H. Huffmon Chapter Four: Swimming Against the Tide: Partisan Gridlock and the 2011 Nevada Redistricting, David F. Damore Chapter Five: Redistricting the Peach State, Charles S. Bullock, III Chapter Six: "Fair" Districts in Florida: New Congressional Seats, New Constitutional Standards, Same Old Republican Advantage?, Aubrey Jewett Chapter Seven: Congressional Redistricting in Louisiana: Region, Race, Party, and Incumbents, Pearson Cross Chapter Eight: Redistricting in Massachusetts, Shannon Jenkins and Samantha Pettey Chapter Nine: Michigan: Republican Domination during a Population Exodus, Michael K. Romano, Todd A. Curry and John A. Clark Chapter Ten: Redistricting in Arizona: An Independent Process Challenged by Partisan Politics, Frederic I. Solop and Ajang A. Salkhi Chapter Eleven: Carving Lines in the Cascades: Redistricting Washington, Kevin Pirch Chapter Twelve: Missouri: Show Me...Again and Again!, Rick Althaus, Jeremy D. Walling, and William J. Miller Chapter Thirteen: Congressional Redistricting in New Jersey, Brigid Callahan Harrison Chapter Fourteen: Lone Star Lines: The Battle over Redistricting in Texas, Jason P. Casellas and Alvaro Corral Chapter Fifteen: Redistricting Congressional Districts in Ohio: An Example of a Partisan Process with Long-lasting Consequences, Mark Salling Chapter Sixteen: Raw Political Power, Gerrymandering, and the illusion of fairness: The Pennsylvania Redistricting Process, 2001 and 2011, Harry C. "Neil" Strine IV Chapter Seventeen: Redistricting in Iowa 2011, Timothy M. Hagle Chapter Eighteen: Drawing Congressional Districts in Illinois-Always Political, Not Always Partisan, Kent Redfield Chapter Nineteen: New York Redistricting in Action: Legislative Inaction and Judicial Enaction, Russell C. Weaver and Joshua J. Dyck Chapter Twenty: Why Redistricting Matters: Political Decisions and Policy Impacts, William J. Miller