Are Congressional elections organized to maintain a representative democracy?

Describe the bicameral structure of the legislative branch.
Include principles of government.
The impact of reapportionment, redistricting, and gerrymandering on government policies, fiscal decisions, and representation.
Include details and examples to support your answer.

Source: The excerpt is from Professor Toddy Eberly’s testimony before the Governor’s Redistricting Reform Commission in 2015. Professor Eberly teaches at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The commission invited the political science professor to make a presentation about redistricting and gerrymandering in Maryland. (modified)

. . . The Democratic and Republican parties share the same goal — the acquisition of power and influence within government. And both parties will use whatever legal means are available to them to acquire that power and boost party interests. . . Maryland’s gerrymandered districts are an attack on a process that encourages both parties to substitute their needs and their agenda for those of the people and the voters. It’s an attack on the very nature of representative government by allowing those in office to choose their voters instead of allowing voters to choose those who will serve in office.


Representation of the people was a central concern of the framers of our constitution. At the time of our nation’s founding, there were two dominant theories regarding Democracy and Representation. One was the idea that only direct democracy could work. Two was the idea that only good and virtuous men could serve as representatives. Given the impossibility posed by those two beliefs, representative government was dismissed.



Well, that was 200 years ago.


As Americans, we should be outraged that both parties manipulate something as sacred as representation in the manner that they do – not only in the House of Representatives but in state legislatures as well.

Gerrymandering undermines accountability through elections. And without accountability, we have no reason to expect representation. . . Today, there are approximately 370-380 safe seats in the House of Representatives. Out of 435 seats, competition exists in about 60. In the rest, the incumbent is safe and protected – and largely unaccountable to anyone. . .


As a result, we have seen the Republican party drift ever rightward and the Democrats ever leftward. A once crucial and vibrant political center is now gone from Congress.