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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
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
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
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