Final answer:
Apportionment is the process of allocating congressional seats among the 50 states, which is followed by redistricting to draw new districts. When redistricting is used to favor a particular party, it's known as gerrymandering, a practice that can undermine fair representation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process of allocating congressional seats among the 50 states is called apportionment. Apportionment refers to the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives among the 50 states based on population data from the census, which occurs every ten years. When states gain or lose seats in the House, the process of drawing new district boundaries to accommodate the change is called redistricting. In this process, gerrymandering can occur, which is the manipulation of the redistricting process in order to advantage a particular political party or group. Gerrymandering, named after Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry, raises significant ethical concerns as it can undermine the democratic principle of fair representation and has been subject to legal challenges under the Voting Rights Act.