Profiling Your U.S Representatives and Congressional District

Districts are a bridge connecting the legislative bodies that form the relationship between constituents and legislature in a country. They are positioned between the citizens and the representatives they have elected. The districts connect the citizens in their interactions with the legislature. This can have many reaching effects on the relationship between the citizens and the representatives. Districts shape the relationship of representing by making a community that is politically rich. It also does so by identifying the interests by deciding the scales and the boundaries that form the district. The characteristics that make up the district change the experience it represents with real outcomes for trusting the government (Sullivan, P71). The district ensures evaluation of the legislative bodies and the representatives, perceiving responsibility and the degree and type of communication between the constituents and the legislator. In this essay, I will discuss the profiles of my representatives and my congressional district, Nevada.

The legislation department of Nevada is made up of sixty two members. Among the sixty two, forty two are those that serve in the district assembly and the remaining twenty serve in the senate (Sullivan, P 73). Each and every legislator serving in the assembly represents a certain number of people, based on the population number gathered in the last census. Since the population of Nevada is booming, nearly doubling, in near future the number of the legislators will also be increased to represent a reasonable number of people in the district. It is rather fortunate that Nevada can alter the number of the legislators by statue but not through constitutional means.

There are certain characteristics that define Nevada district and give it the appearance that it possesses. The small size of the district, its shape, and the location of its boundaries have affects the relationship between the representatives and the subjects being represented. The type, the structure and the quality of interactions that happen between the legislators and the constituents also affect the relationship between the representatives and the represented group (Taagepera, P 385). The definition of the geographic constituency of a legislator influences representation in the district in various ways. Geography and representation forms the role that the district is given in the political system of the country.

Each representative is given a role to represent the people under him in a way that no other representative or institution can. Representation in Nevada is not based on the political parties in the country but on the residence of those represented in the geographical area (Sullivan, P76). The political power through the role of representation is earned on the basis of the representative district that covers a particular geographical area. The legislators are led by the interest of representing the interests of their constituents living within the geographical boundaries of the district. The system of representation has to assume the matters of a place. The groups of the state are based on the geographical locations and not in ideologies, race, ages, gender or any other differentiating characteristics that make a group different from another.

It is important to look back and reflect on the way representation in the district is different from the representation based on other characteristics. In the selection of the representatives, the representation is based on political parties but not on geography (Taagepera, P 388). Positions and seats are distributed in the political parties according to the votes share in the previous elections. It is the responsibility of the representatives to induce people to vote for their parties. The other people have their different parties that they expect to be represented. There is usually no representative that available to finish the duties that have not been handled well or to listen to the opinions that were ignored. The burden of representing the needs and interests of the people is usually on the legislative branches of the district (Sullivan, P 76). The burden cannot be laid on the executive or judiciary institutions in the district as well as the whole nation. Representation in the district is done with one legislator being chosen to represent the interests of the people that reside in the district.

The whole system of representation is determined by the connection that there is between the residents in the district and the representatives they have elected. It is the duty of legislative institution in the district to structure the relationship between the representatives and the citizens in the district. One cannot contact her representative of the state without placing herself in a district. Only by doing so, the constituent can now identify her representative (Taagepera, P 390). The district connects all the interactions and communications between the legislators and the constituents. In the United States of America, there are two types of districts; the congressional districts and the state legislative districts. The two districts are settled by the legislation of the justice department that depends on the state.

When the connection between the representatives and those represented is made strong, it becomes a good thing and an important aspect for democracy to take place (Taagepera, P394). The representatives are advised to listen to the opinions of the people they represent keenly as a way of practicing democracy in the district. It is also good for the group of people being represented to inform those that represent them about what they expect and want the government to do for them. Another attribute of enforcing democracy is the will of the legislators to communicate the intricacies that come from the actions of the state government and that of the district to the people and the district (Sullivan, P80). All these attributes ensures that the interests and needs of the district and the citizens in it are served.

In conclusion, districts are also considered to be a bridge connecting the legislative institutions. In the district, the fields where elections are held are defined and the boundaries in which the candidates seeking to represent the people are established. There are restrictions on who is to run for the offices in the legislation, whereby one can only vie for a post if he or she lives in the district (Sullivan, P83). The districts, not only form the structure of interaction between the representatives and the people they represent but also, they create a new entity of the people at long last.

Works Cited

Sullivan, John. Political Correlates of Social, Economic, and Religious Diversity in theAmerican States. The Journal of Politics 35(01):70-84. 1973. Web.

Taagepera, Rein. The Size of National Assemblies. Social Science Research 1(4):385-401. 1972. Web