Can You Gerrymander Your Party to Power?
source link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/01/27/us/politics/congressional-gerrymandering-redistricting-game-2022.html?ref=sidebar
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Can You Gerrymander Your Party to Power?
Gerrymandering is the intentional distortion of political districts to give one party an advantage, and it has been criticized for disenfranchising many voters and fueling deeper polarization.
To help you understand it better, we created an imaginary state called Hexapolis, where your only mission is to gerrymander your party to power.
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Welcome to Hexapolis
Every 10 years, Hexapolis redraws its congressional district lines — just like the United States does. But Hexapolis is a simpler place.
Lawmakers in either the Purple Party or Yellow Party control redistricting. To increase their advantage in upcoming elections, they have been known to gerrymander egregiously — even if it means leaving some voters disenfranchised.
Hexapolis has nine districts. Even though a majority of voters favor the Purple Party, that does not mean that the Yellow Party can’t shift the state’s partisan tilt.
Ground rules
First, here’s how to draw a district.
Each represents a person. Group 15 adjacent ones to make a congressional district.
Click or drag to draw a district.
Districts must have equal populations.
Dividing 45 into three groups of 15 would give each district the same number of residents.
Some, by law, must protect underrepresented voters.
A represents a voter who belongs to a minority group in Hexapolis. A mostly minority district is one where more than half its hexagons are .
Districts can lean Yellow or Purple.
A is a voter who favors the Purple Party and a favors the Yellow Party. More than half the hexagons in two districts here lean Purple.
Try to make districts compact.
A district is compact when are near one another, keeping neighbors in the same districts. Compact districts are usually shaped like circles or squares.
Most compact
Least compact
Could be better
Ready to start?
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