APHG Unit 4 Vocab Pt. 2

Front

A subfield of political geography that analyzes the geography of political preferences and how geography can shape voting outcomes

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Electoral Geography

Front

A territorial division for casting votes in public elections; generally, only those who live in the voting district are permitted to cast their votes there

Back

Voting District

Front

A body of 538 electors in the United States; a majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president; a state’s number of electors equals the number of members in its congressional delegation (one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for its senators)

Back

Electoral College

Front

The process by which the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are divided proportionately by population among the 50 states following every U.S. census

Back

Reapportionment

Front

The process of drawing new boundaries for U.S. congressional districts to reflect the population changes since the previous U.S. census

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Redistricting

Front

The manipulation of voting district boundaries to favor a particular political party, group, or election outcome

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Gerrymandering

Front

Gerrymandering a voting district by concentrating all of the opposition party into one district, thereby creating a large majority of that party in the district while ensuring that it cannot win any election

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Packing

Front

Gerrymandering a voting district by dividing opposition votes into many districts, thus diluting the opposition’s vote to ensure it does not form a majority in any district

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Cracking

Front

The smaller areas into which a larger state is divided (e.g., states in the United States, provinces in Canada)

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Subnational Units

Front

An independent state that concentrates power in the central government and grants little or no authority to its subnational units

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Unitary State