MetaFilter posts tagged with redistricting

Eat your heart out, Tom Delay

Horace Rumpole — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 09:07:16 -0800

For serious Poli Sci junkies only: the Swing State Project is holding a contest for best redistricting of New York, using the nerdtastic Dave's Redistricting App. (Requires Silverlight, reading instructions highly recommended.) New York is virtually certain to lose a seat in the House of Representatives after the 2010 redistricting, so your challenge is to create 28 new districts that have a partisan makeup likely to elect no fewer than 26 Democratic representatives. New districts must have equal population (+/- 1%) and not violate the Voting Rights Act's provisions on minority representation. Bonus points for screwing Peter King in some fashion.

Gerrymandering: The Game

commander_cool — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 14:14:31 -0800

"Why would you need to rig the voting machines if you'd already rigged the election by making seats safe?" A new shareware game shows how drawing district lines can influence elections. Computer-aided gerrymandering has resulted in wildly shaped districts and made incumbents safer than ever, causing calls for reform. The original gerrymander is commemorated in Boston.

Oh redraw the damn map whenever you want.

Captaintripps — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 13:16:31 -0800

The Supreme Court rules that state legislatures may redistrict at any time, while not harming minorities. The ruling is heavily influenced by Vieth v. Jubelirer, a Scalia opinion based on the premise that there is no objective way to draw a district (How the Census Bureau is trying to help make one). This ends a saga including amid-decade redistricting and subsequent rebellion in the Texas Statehouse.

This is our surprised face.

XQUZYPHYR — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 08:18:14 -0800

A memo from the Department of Justice in Texas' voting division reveals that, back in 2003 during the Texas GOP's redistricting push, the division unanimously agreed that the redistricting plan sponsored by the state GOP and Rep. Tom DeLay was illegal under the Voting Rights Act. The plan was pushed through anyway, being the most effective in securing additional House seats for the GOP.

Unspooling the ongoing thread of deceit

almostcool — Mon, 12 Jul 2004 08:33:36 -0800

"DeLay is doing everything moral, legal and ethical to increase the Republican majority and advance conservative ideas," says his spokesman, Stuart Roy. Heck, we already know that Tom DeLay loves the children enough to start a charitable fund to help pay for "late-night convention parties, a luxury suite during President Bush's speech at Madison Square Garden and yacht cruises" during the 2004 GOP convention (as well as the children, of course). Now, he's connected (via an email) to Enron, asking them for extra money in order to help fund the already-notorious redistricting in Texas. When will enough be enough?

GOP aide's redistricting analysis leaks.

pineapple — Mon, 13 Oct 2003 11:54:45 -0800

Another aide embarrasses the GOP? The WaPo reported this weekend about Joby Fortson's memo leak, and the Texas Democratic Party appears to have the whole email. While my own sensibilities are mostly offended that the U.S. Congress apparently doesn't have spell-check, it's hard nonetheless not to think also of Paul Tripplehorn's break-up and Kit Bond's aide's tacky website named for the plane that killed Dem Missouri gov Mel Carnahan. Discretion, valor, yadda.

Meanwhile in the Surreal

RobbieFal — Tue, 13 May 2003 14:05:47 -0800

Texas Rangers are facing a unique task. They have been sent to arrest over 50 Democrats and drag them back to Austin, TX. The problem: They've fled Texas to 'hide' in Oklahoma. The reason why they left the state? To stop a quorum on Congressional Redistricting.