It's A Toss-Up!
AP US Government and Politics
In the 2018 midterm elections, of America's 435 congressional districts, how many are toss-ups, that is: too close to call and winnable by either party (yellow)?
Yellow = Toss-Up
AP US Government and Politics Lesson Plans
How accurate was your prediction?
How do you think the average American would answer this question?
What most surprises you about this map?
How many states are solidly one color?
How many Americans live in toss-up districts?*
What is the big story this map tells?
Why are there so few toss-up districts?
What is a consequence of the low number of toss-up districts on the U.S. political system?
Is this good news?
Is this good for democracy?
Is your district a toss-up? Use Roll Call's Super-Duper Interactive Congress Map and find out whether your district is a toss-up. If it is, that's great. If it isn't, contact your representative and ask them to step down.
Who draws these district lines anyway?
If every district were a toss-up would that be good for the U.S. political system?
If you were the incumbent representative in any but the 8 toss-up districts, what would you think about this map?
How do you think this information impacts political parties and campaigns?
What is the connection between the low number of toss-ups and bipartisanship and compromise?
How different do you think this map was 50 years ago?
What is one positive thing about toss-up districts?
Why are there less toss-up districts (yellow) every year?
Do you think there will eventually be zero toss-up districts?
Approximately 300,000,000 Americans live in non-toss-up districts, does that mean that in the House races, at least, their votes don't really matter?
What does this map tell us about federalism?
What does this map tell us about the US election system?
Voters are supposed to chose their representatives, but in most cases, the representatives are choosing their voters. Would it be fair to say that the system is rigged?
That's a lot of questions! What question do you have about all this?
Bonus Chart*
Learning Extension
Read the WAPO article about toss up districts!
Action Extension
Politics is supposed to be about competition, but as you look at America's congressional districts, you'll see there's really not much competition going on! Now here's the hard part. Your state legislature decides how to draw the U.S. Congressional district lines. In many cases, these lines could be drawn so that many, if not all, of the districts in most states were much more competitive. Contact your state legislature and ask them to make their districts more competitive! If you feel strongly about this, pressure you legislature until they make districts more competitive. Share your results in class or online.
Adorable Baby Animal wearing glasses and reading a book Extension
AP US Government and Politics
