Category Archives: Politics of Redistricting

Gerrymandering, Cities and Economic Growth

Posted on January 20, 2017 by

Brenton Mock has a must-read article in The Atlantic’s CityLab exploring how state-level gerrymandering consistently short-changes the priorities of people who live in cities. It is an important point, but while we worry about the unfairness of it all, we … Continue reading →

Posted in Illinois, Ohio, Politics of Redistricting, Proportional Representation, Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Barack Obama and Eric Holder take on Gerrymandering

Posted on November 8, 2016 by

One of the intriguing sub-themes to emerge from the 2016 elections is the news, first reported by Politico, that President Obama and former Attorney General Eric Holder intend to focus their future political efforts on a broad-based Democratic Party program … Continue reading →

Posted in National Democratic Redistricting Committee, NDRC, Obama, Politics of Redistricting | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

How could anyone say that? Here’s how…

Posted on September 22, 2016 by

Gerrymandering and different points of view about the unrest in Charlotte NC Continue reading →

Posted in minority rights, north carolina, Politics of Redistricting, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Gerrymandering causes Global Warming

Posted on December 4, 2015 by

I could post a picture of Lamar Smith, the Republican chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, but suffice it to say he’s an old white guy with glasses. Since that also describes me, I prefer to believe … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics of Redistricting, Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

How do we get rid of Gerrymandering?

Posted on July 11, 2015 by

A new follower of this blog from Texas wrote me recently asking what he could do to help get rid of Gerrymandering. It is a really good question- one that I wish I could answer better. But let me take … Continue reading →

Posted in Brennan Center, Brian Olson, Politics of Redistricting, Proportional Representation | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Gerrymandering results in dismal turnouts – Richmond Times-Dispatch

Posted on June 24, 2015 by

Very persuasive Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial with examples from Virginia’s experience that gerrymandering leads to a vicious cycle of low voter turnout and congressional races that are uncontested even at the party level. This is a good, quick read… Gerrymandering results … Continue reading →

Posted in minority rights, Politics of Redistricting, Virginia | 1 Comment

Can single-member districts ever be truly fair?

Posted on January 17, 2015 by

Recently I’ve been challenged in a very forceful but thoughtful way by a WordPress user who uses the handle realrepresentation. This reader advocates Proportional Representation as the system the United States should use to select its delegates to the House of Representatives. I lived in Germany … Continue reading →

Posted in Boundary mathematics, minority rights, Pennsylvania, Politics of Redistricting, Proportional Representation | Tagged , , | Leave a comment