Gerrymandering

[Tero]

I've drawn in the least gerrymandering graph on the left. Republicans get two, democrats get 3.


Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering

Discuss

[Tero]

This was hilarious: Prison-based gerrymandering

This phenomenon violates the principle of one person, one vote because, although many prisoners come from (and return to) urban communities, they are counted as "residents" of the rural districts that contain large prisons, thereby artificially inflating the political representation in districts with prisons at the expense of voters in all other districts without prisons

[NineBerry]

Gerrymandering doesn't work when having system with proportional vote...

[Tero]

The middle scheme is unlikely, but is possible. A state with all the cities on the coast and all the rest farm.

[laklak]

Of course this all assumes that ALL Democrats vote Democratic, ALL Republicans vote Republican, and completely ignores independent voters and minor parties. That's not how it plays out in real life. Down here in the Gunshine State fully 23% of voters have no party affiliation, up 3% from the last presidential election. So in the graph above one entire column plus 1.5 additional squares are neither red nor blue. Then there's three percent "minor party" voters, mostly Greens and Libs, so that's another 1.5 squares. How do you account for over a quarter of the voting population in drawing district boundaries?

[Tero]

Sorry, that's not the kind of choice you have here. Its either pepsi or coke, diet of sugar, orange screaming buffoon or nasty woman. We have no way of getting any politicians too represent strictly NRA or weed smokers. I think Hillary would give you the weed, though, eventually. She might have to give up something, like global warming, but it could be on the table.

[Hermit]

Of course this all assumes that ALL Democrats vote Democratic, ALL Republicans vote Republican

It does not matter if the person who votes for the Democrats or Republicans is a Democrat or a Republican. All that matters is the vote itself. In the latest presidential election a vote for Trump was of greater value than a vote for Clinton, no matter who did the voting.

and completely ignores independent voters and minor parties.

As far as the outcome is concerned, that is the biggest problem of any first past the post system. It is somewhat reduced under a preferential voting system, and somewhat reduced by the multi-member system, but as you say, no system is perfect.

[Tero]

Think of it this way. At Berkeley, possessing pot was reduced to a fine in one of the first college campus town. Madison WI followed. You can get liberal ideas pushed along, even libertarian ideas, at city council level. Some states too, MA. But on the national level you are stuck with republicans and democrats. This is why the NRA has pushed through all pro gun laws at the state level. Most guns are not under federal law. You have to shoot someone and cross a state line.

[Tero]

The top post figure is merely illustrative and not necessarily completely correct

[Tero]

Nort Carolina
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/23/opinions ... index.html