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Congress has provided that representatives shall be chosen on the
Tuesday next after the first Monday in November of the even-numbered
years.[11] Congress has also decreed that representatives shall be
chosen by districts; but the State legislature has complete control of
the districting of its State. However, Congress has declared that these
districts shall be composed of contiguous territory, and contain, as
nearly as practicable, an equal number of inhabitants. Now, usage has
defined territory to be contiguous when it touches another portion of
the district at any one point. As a result of this questionable
interpretation, some States have been divided into districts of
fantastic shapes, to promote the interests of the party having the
majority in the State legislature.[12]
[Footnote 11: The only exceptions to this rule are: Maine holds its
election on the second Monday in September, and Vermont on the first
Tuesday in November.]
[Footnote 12: This process is called "gerrymandering.


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