Facilitators' Answers —
English
 
Subscribe to ACE Newsletter
These topic pages provide a quick overview and easy access to all content that can be found on ACE for any give topic of interest - weather encyclopaedia files, electoral materials, comparative data, consolidated replies, case studies, or other.

ELECTORAL FRAMEWORK

Legal Framework Boundary Delimitation Electoral Systems

ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION

Gender and Elections Parties and Candidates Disability and Elections Media and Elections Civic and Voter Education Direct Democracy

ELECTORAL MANAGEMENT

Electoral Management Cost of Elections

ELECTORAL INTEGRITY

Electoral Integrity Campaign Finance Measuring Electoral Quality Election Observation Electoral Assistance

ELECTORAL OPERATIONS

Voter Registration Voting Operations Voter Identification Results Management Out of Country Voting Elections and Technology Elections and Security
Countries
Encyclopaedia Electoral Materials Comparative Data Election Calendar Observation Portal BRIDGE Extended Learning Latest Updates
Ask the Experts Consolidated Replies Find An Expert Access ACE Practitioners' Workspace
About ACE The History of ACE Contact ACE ACE Partners Practitioners' Network FAQ
Document Actions

Boundary Delimitation

United States of America United States of America

BD001

Delimitation of constituencies
Question:Are constituencies delimited for election purposes?
Answer: a. Yes
Comments: Boundary delimitation is conducted in each of by the state legislatures and/or redistricting commissions (advisory committees).
Source: United States Census Bureau ; National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL): https://www.ncsl.org/research/redistricting/redistricting-criteria.aspx
Verified: 2024/09/30
(Found a mistake? Please let us know.)
BD003

Criteria for drawing boundaries
Question:On what criteria are the boundaries drawn?
Answer(s): a. "Equality" of population
f. Communities of interest/cultural concerns
Comments: Boundaries for congressional districts are drawn on criteria of "as equal in population as practicable." Nondiscrimination on the basis of race must also be considered. Beyond these, states develop their own criterion.
Source: U.S. Constitution Art. 1, Sect. 2 (Apportionment Clause): http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/americas/US/united-states-of-america-constitution-1992/view ; 1965 Voting Rights Act, Sect. 2: http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/americas/US/united-states-of-america-voting-rights-act-1965/view ; National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL): https://www.ncsl.org/research/redistricting/redistricting-criteria.aspx
Verified: 2024/09/30
(Found a mistake? Please let us know.)
BD005

Body responsible for drawing boundaries
Question:The body responsible for drawing the boundaries is:
Answer(s): a. Legislature (1st chamber)
b. Legislature (2nd chamber)
d. Boundary Commission
f. A government department or agency
g. Other
Comments: Redistricting bodies vary across the United States; in some cases, the State Legislature is in charge of redistricting, in others a split partisan group or a paid external commission. In several states, the entire state comprises a single constituency.
Source: Cook Political Report, 2012: http://cookpolitical.com/node/10516/ ; National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL): https://www.ncsl.org/research/redistricting/redistricting-criteria.aspx
Verified: 2024/10/15
(Found a mistake? Please let us know.)
The data on this page is continuously updated. Additional, but potentially outdated material is available here.