Redistricting in the elections to the US House of Representatives and its role in the US political system

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to analyse the system of redistricting
regarding the elections to the US House of Representatives and to examine
what consequences it has for the entire political system. The article is based
on a hypothesis that redistricting does not have a direct impact on elections

results and on the political system. However, it has an important indirect
impact, strengthening already existing trends, and also a mediating impact,
consisting in the transmission of changes from one level of the political system
to another level. The article consists of three parts. The first one is
devoted to historical evolution of the redistricting system, from the creation
of the United States till the 1960s. The second part discusses three subsequent
phases of the evolution of the contemporary redistricting system. The
third part investigates how redistricting affects the political system as a whole.
The following issues are analysed in this part: direct impact on elections
results, alleged decline in electoral competition, growing polarization of the
political arena and the electorate, and representatives’ attentiveness to their
constituents’ problems.