WP: Computer Programmer Solved Gerrymandering

Aledinho

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It's probably pie in the sky to think that this will ever be implemented, but I think it would be an improvement to our electoral system. It could also be a step toward breaking the electoral college into congressional districts instead of states.

Washington Post


Brian Olson is a software engineer in Massachusetts who wrote a program to draw "optimally compact" equal-population congressional districts in each state, based on 2010 census data. Olson's algorithm draws districts that respect the boundaries of census blocks, which are the smallest geographic units used by the Census Bureau. This ensures that the district boundaries reflect actual neighborhoods and don't, say, cut an arbitrary line through somebody's house.

 

bama_wayne1

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The electoral college was set up to be sure that states weren't overridden by population centers. Just like each state has 2 senators in order to accomplish the same thing in the legislative branch. Why is that wrong?
 

CharminTide

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The electoral college was set up to be sure that states weren't overridden by population centers. Just like each state has 2 senators in order to accomplish the same thing in the legislative branch. Why is that wrong?
The Electoral College was set up by the founders to ensure someone like Trump wouldn't ascend to the presidency; it was neutered by the two parties and became what we have today. Gerrymandering is a broken system of mapping districts, set up by Congress to strategically group the population in order to minimize the threat of challengers to our Congressional representatives.
 

Bamaro

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The electoral college was set up to be sure that states weren't overridden by population centers. Just like each state has 2 senators in order to accomplish the same thing in the legislative branch. Why is that wrong?
So you are in favor of gerrymandering?:eek2: Gerrymandering goes way beyond the EC.
 

selmaborntidefan

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It's probably pie in the sky to think that this will ever be implemented, but I think it would be an improvement to our electoral system. It could also be a step toward breaking the electoral college into congressional districts instead of states.

Washington Post





Both of your suggestions are pie in the sky and will never happen.

And as long as we keep the EC, a state with a brain has zero incentive to limit its clout by splitting its EVs.
 

BamaInMo1

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For those trying to champion the one person/one vote and let each person's vote count: be careful what you wish for. At least 40% of the voters in this country do not pay taxes/really contribute to society and have no clue as to why they are really voting for someone other than voting for someone just because of the color of their skin or their party affiliation (and it does cut both ways). Do you really want a block of 40% who are leeches to really have that much "power" in determining who runs this country?
 

chanson78

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For those trying to champion the one person/one vote and let each person's vote count: be careful what you wish for. At least 40% of the voters in this country do not pay taxes/really contribute to society and have no clue as to why they are really voting for someone other than voting for someone just because of the color of their skin or their party affiliation (and it does cut both ways). Do you really want a block of 40% who are leeches to really have that much "power" in determining who runs this country?
Wow you're right. I didn't think about it like that. We should probably institute some kind of intelligence test to ensure that the people voting actually get educated on the issues that for a given election cycle. Because it's obviously the "uneducated voter" that you really have an issue with, right?
 

day-day

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Wow you're right. I didn't think about it like that. We should probably institute some kind of intelligence test to ensure that the people voting actually get educated on the issues that for a given election cycle. Because it's obviously the "uneducated voter" that you really have an issue with, right?
My understanding is that this is basically what the electors were originally set up to be. People elected to represent their states to make educated decisions on who to vote for taking into account the views of the people they represent.

It doesn't work that way now but the electoral college still achieves one objective and that is to keep large states from running over smaller states in elections.
 

BamaInMo1

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Wow you're right. I didn't think about it like that. We should probably institute some kind of intelligence test to ensure that the people voting actually get educated on the issues that for a given election cycle. Because it's obviously the "uneducated voter" that you really have an issue with, right?
Yes, it is the uneducated voter that we should all have a problem with. People make choices about whether to educate themselves or not. I've never forced anyone out there to drop out of school to sell drugs or just simply because those around them tell them how lucrative it is to live off the gvt (that is the people who go to work every day to pay taxes and be productive in our society). People who are illiterate who live off the gvt (the taxpayers) have only one goal in mind and that's to vote for the party who promises "FREE STUFF" for nothing. Of course, those of us who have at least a little bit of education realize that nothing is for free and we tax payers foot the bill. I'm all for helping people who need help, but in today's society with the great institution of gvt run public education there is simply no reason that people are not literate.
And this is not just a "black/minority" issue because Asians, Indians and Hispanics do well in school and there are plenty of white people who have gotten lazy and are becoming more illiterate. When you start letting ANYONE (regardless of race, religion, etc), who do not contribute to a society, have an equal voice in society then that society will erode (much like the U.S. is doing now).
 

bama_wayne1

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So the article says that this guy's program completely ignores race. I don't have a problem with that but the Voting Rights Act would. Down here in Alabama that would probably mean some races could have no representation. That in my opinion is going backwards.
 

Bubbaloo

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So the article says that this guy's program completely ignores race. I don't have a problem with that but the Voting Rights Act would. Down here in Alabama that would probably mean some races could have no representation. That in my opinion is going backwards.
People do tend to gather (live) along racial, national origin, religious and political lines (herd mentality). Splitting those lines in order to get your preferred mix is gerrymandering. The above example should (but may not) be the most equitable way of dividing districts.
 

Bamaro

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People do tend to gather (live) along racial, national origin, religious and political lines (herd mentality). Splitting those lines in order to get your preferred mix is gerrymandering. The above example should (but may not) be the most equitable way of dividing districts.
Yup. Justice is suppose to be blind. So should be redistricting.
 

Tide1986

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Interesting article in Politico about gerrymandering. It generally reflects my skepticism on the demonization of gerrymandering.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/could-gerrymandering-be-good-for-democracy-119581?o=1


...the notion that so many of our political ills stem from gerrymandering is, in fact, a bad idea that simply will not die—what we call a Zombie Myth. And when it comes to Zombie Myths in American politics, gerrymandering remains one of the most persistent. Actual evidence from political science research shows only weak correlations between gerrymandering and both polarization and electoral competitiveness. So why does the Zombie Myth persist? We think three major misconceptions are to blame.
 

Tide1986

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So the article says that this guy's program completely ignores race. I don't have a problem with that but the Voting Rights Act would. Down here in Alabama that would probably mean some races could have no representation. That in my opinion is going backwards.
I did appreciate that the column acknowledges that the Voting Rights Act itself is a driver of the gerrymandering that some see as "bad".
 

chanson78

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Interesting article in Politico about gerrymandering. It generally reflects my skepticism on the demonization of gerrymandering.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/could-gerrymandering-be-good-for-democracy-119581?o=1
That article assumes that the best solution is to have districts that reflect the voters party bias. The issue with Gerrymandering isn't so much the fact that it gives you a reflection of the actual distribution according to party lines with regards to the states population. The problem is that by turning districts into a lock for either side you are ensuring that the people who make it to the primary are much more to the extreme on on both sides. If you were able to flip a district because it wasn't a foregone conclusion you might actually have more moderates running. With more moderates, they may actually work to be reasonable instead of obstructionist when they actually get on the job. However I know you actually don't believe that there is any good that can come from legislators passing bills, so gerrymandering helps maintain the status quo because we keep sending ill behaving children to congress where all they can do is shout at each other in an attempt to keep proving their record that they are extreme enough to get reelected in their district.
 

CharminTide

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However I know you actually don't believe that there is any good that can come from legislators passing bills, so gerrymandering helps maintain the status quo because we keep sending ill behaving children to congress where all they can do is shout at each other in an attempt to keep proving their record that they are extreme enough to get reelected in their district.
Congratulations, you're no longer new here.
 

Tide1986

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I know you actually don't believe that there is any good that can come from legislators passing bills...
You are generally correct at least with respect to the federal government.

A significantly less active federal government would be more impactful on reducing partisanship and extremism rather than implementing yet another version of gerrymandering.
 

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