Districting

Districting is the process of establishing the areas that are represented in a legislative body or some other multimember assembly. Although some multimember elections are conducted on an at-large basis, where every eligible voter participates in a single contest, such as members of several national parliaments elected by proportional representation (e.g., the Israeli Knesset and the Dutch House of Representatives), in most [Page 202]legislative bodies, such as the U.S. House of Representatives and the British House of Commons, it is seen as desirable for those elected to represent people living in a particular geographic area. Dividing a country or state into districts ensures that the representatives chosen can claim to speak for the voters of the area who elected them, and can ensure that the ...