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Existing political science research suggests that citizens know little about the decennial reapportionment and redistricting processes, although they have substantial effects on their representation at the national, state, and local levels. However, much of this evidence comes from national-level surveys in which many respondents are minimally affected by redistricting, if at all, and there is no real district-level evidence from open-seat contests. We reconsider these findings using a focused telephone survey of the Myrtle Beach–Conway–Florence “Pee Dee” region of northeastern South Carolina that historically had lacked local representation but recently received a new district as a result of the decennial census. We also consider whether some groups of citizens were more likely to be conscious of redistricting’s effects on their region than others. The effects of congressional redistricting on voters can vary dramatically in magnitude. In many cases, in states with fairly stable population trends across the state, we would expect redistricting plans to have few substantive effects on representation. In other cases, either due to political manipulation of the redistricting process or unequal population growth, the effects may be quite profound. However, most existing political science research focuses on the effects of redistricting on the outcomes of elections, particularly in terms of the partisan and racial identity of the candidates that are elected and the effects of redistricting on the incumbency advantage (see, for example, Overby and Cosgrove 1996; Desposato and Petrocik 2003; Grose 2005; Juenke and Preuhs 2012). * We thank Winthrop University and the West Forum on Politics and Policy for their financial support for the survey whose results are analyzed here. Any errors in the analysis or reporting of the survey results are the sole responsibility of the authors. |
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