Final answer:
The census determines population numbers, leading to reapportionment, which adjusts the number of representative districts. Redistricting then redraws these districts to ensure equal representation, protecting against gerrymandering and ensuring voter equity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the Census, Reapportionment, and Redistricting
The connection between census, reapportionment, and redistricting plays a crucial role in the political landscape of the United States. The census is a decennial event that counts the population, which then informs reapportionment, the process of adding or removing representative districts based on population changes. Subsequently, redistricting is carried out to draw new boundaries for these districts to ensure equal representation in accordance with the Voting Rights Act and to avoid gerrymandering, which can manipulate districts to favor a particular group or political party.
Congress has granted state legislatures the authority to redraw district lines, often leading to political maneuvering to create electoral advantages for the dominant party in the state legislature. This practice can result in districts not being revised frequently, leading to potential discrepancies in representation as population densities shift from rural to urban areas over time. However, to ensure democracy, it is critical that each person's vote holds equal weight and every district has a comparable population, avoiding what is known as malapportionment.