Fighting Gerrymandering by Automating Congressional Redistricting

Document Type

Article

Authors

Jacob Jenness, University of Minnesota - MorrisFollow

Abstract

Gerrymandering is a political problem that the United States has had for more than 200 years. Politicians have taken the dull and routine process of drawing congressional districts and turned it into a highly-partisan process. However, with recent improvements in redistricting algorithms, researchers Harry Levin and Sorelle Friedler have introduced their recursive Divide and Conquer Redistricting Algorithm. This algorithm has the potential to automate the process of congressional redistricting, thereby removing the potential for bias. By utilizing a set of partitioning and swapping algorithms, the Divide and Conquer Redistricting Algorithm achieves desirable goals, such as low population deviation, and high levels of compactness, as well as meeting all of the legal requirements needed for congressional districts.

Recommended Citation

Jenness, Jacob (2022) "Fighting Gerrymandering by Automating Congressional Redistricting," Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal: Vol. 9: Iss. 1, Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61366/2576-2176.1100
Available at: https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/horizons/vol9/iss1/2

Primo Type

Article