Essay 13 &14

Essay 13
     Congressional reapportionment is the process by which the government redistributes the population of the congressional districts, based on information taken during the census. It is important to states because it can potentially change the balance of power in Congress, and remove a congressman from a liberal state, and give the seat to a conservative one.
     Redistricing is a very similar process, but instead of changing which state gets seats in congress, it re-draws the lines of the congressional districts.
    Gerrymandering can allow a congressman, and his aides to choose who will vote for them, by choosing/ realigning the districts in their favor. Another congressmen use Gerrymandering is to help other people with similar interests wind up getting elected in a highly malleable district which would vote for them.
    One limit the supreme court has placed on redistricting is that districts must be equally populated, or as close as one can get to equal. They have also forbidden it from limiting minority voting strength.


Essay 14
     Mandatory Spending: Federal programs which have been established by Congress. This limits the president's power in Congress because there is no working around Mandatory Spending, so the president needs to compromise, and give in to congressional decisions on Mandatory Spending.
     Lame Duck: An official who has not been re-elected, and is simply waiting until his replacement, who was elected comes in to take his position. Lame Duck's limit presidential power because they no longer need to worry about re-election, and simply vote as they believe, often in opposition to the president.