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Put the ridiculously gerrymandered congressional districts back together.

Districts in Iowa tend to be competitive Although Republican U.S. House candidates won about one-third of the vote in Maryland in 2012, they grabbed only one of the eight seats because Democratic state legislators had packed conservative voters into the 12373 An Ohio State University political scientist 3913 In what Real Clear Politics called the "1214 Although Democratic House candidates in North Carolina received a majority of the vote, Republican candidates won nine of the state's 13 House seats because the Republican-controlled state legislature had packed the 141212 Obama carried Michigan by nine points. Even so, Democratic House candidates, who themselves received a majority of the vote, only won five of the state's 14 seats. That's because the Republican-controlled state legislature packed as many Detroit-area Democrats as they could into the 1314 due to strong laws against gerrymandering. By law, the nonpartisan state agency responsible for redistricting must draw districts that are square, rectangular, or hexagonal and match city and county boundaries as much as possible. The agency cannot consider voter registration records and previous election results in the process. In 2012, the state's four congressional seats were split evenly between the two parties, with no candidates winning more than 60 percent of the vote. st District and given the said Ohio's adopted plan was "the most grotesque partisan gerrymander that I, as a political scientist, had ever seen." Although Obama beat Romney by two points, Republicans took 12 of the state's 16 House seats because the Republican-controlled state legislature had Gerrymander of the Decade," Republican state legislators in Pennsylvania packed the st District, th District and th District. Democratic candidates in those districts each won more than 80 percent of the vote. th District, and th District with Democratic voters. A geographic analysis showed that the th District is the least compact congressional district in the country. st District, nd District, and th District with Democratic voters while drawing other districts to protect Republican candidates. Although Obama won Pennsylvania by 5 points in 2012, Republicans won 13 of the state's 18 U.S. House seats. packed Democratic voters into the rd District, th District and th District. nd District, rd District, and th District pieces of the Baltimore area to make them safely Democratic. The rd District has been described as "a crazy quilt," "a blood spatter from a crime scene," and a "broken-winged pterodactyl, lying prostrate across the center of the state."

* Voting percentages in tooltips are the percentages of the total votes for Democratic and Republican candidates. Source: Clerk of the House of Representatives

Gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing congressional districts after a decadal census to favor one political party over the other, is getting a bad rap, especially after Republicans used it to maintain a majority in the House despite losing the majority vote in the last election. Sure, gerrymandering may be a way for parties to gain unfair political advantage at the cost of true democracy, but who doesn't love the crazy congressional district shapes it makes? With a little imagination, Ohio's 9 th District isn't just a place for the GOP to cram Democratic voters-it's also a terrible serpent! Pennsylvania's 16 th District is a flexing bodybuilder, Ohio's 12 th a loyal pup, and Maryland's 3 rd a " broken-winged pterodactyl." With 's gerrymandering jigsaw puzzle, gerrymandering is more exciting than ever. How fast can you put the pieces of the electorate back together?

Correction, Aug. 22, 2013: The text accompanying the Maryland puzzle in this interactive originally stated that Maryland has seven congressional districts. It has eight.

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How Fast Can You Put These Ridiculously Gerrymandered Congressional Districts Back Together?

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Gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing congressional districts after a decadal census to favor one political party over the other, is getting a bad ...

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This video is on the news media and how they influence Americans.

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Media Institution: Crash Course Government and Politics #44

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This crash course video explains how public opinion is shared. Enjoy!

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Shaping Public Opinion: Crash Course Government and Politics #34

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So today Craig is going to talk about where our political opinions come from. Of course, most people's politics are grounded in their ideologies, but there are also other external influences such as the government itself, interest groups, and the media.

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This is a crash course video on Public Opinion. I love these and feel they can help you understand the topics we are discussing.

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Public Opinion: Crash Course Government and Politics #33

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So today, Craig is finally going to start talking about politics. Now up until this point we've specifically been looking at government - that is answering the questions of who, what, and how in relation to policies. But politics is different in that it looks at why certain policies are made.

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The Ten Worst Gaffes In Modern American Politics: Debate Edition

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Debate night is a huge night for politicians, affording them the rare chance to talk directly challenge the statements made by their opponents. It is also an opportunity for the candidates to make some damaging gaffes. Here are ten of the worst.

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https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_and_page_2014_-testing_theories_of_american_politics.doc.pdf

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This is a direct link to the same sex marriage case from last summer.

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A case in which the Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriage.