Carolina legislators have an unusual task: they are instructed by the Superior Court to undo a partisan gerrymander, but they are not allowed to use partisan voting data. Here are some suggestions for carrying out this task successfully.
Entries Tagged as 'Politics'
Suggestions for a fair redistricting process (contains no partisan data)
September 16th, 2019, 9:41am by Sam Wang
Tags: Politics · Redistricting
The North Carolina Senate remedial map shows reduced bias but is weak for minority representation
September 15th, 2019, 11:45am by Sam Wang
This post has been modified to remove reference to the Voting Rights Act. (click the map above for greater detail) The Senate remedial map, as passed by the entire chamber (“Consensus v3”), is reminiscent of the House map in its character. It has less partisan skew – but some still remains. PlanScore [2018 map] [Remedial] […]
Tags: 2020 Election · Politics · Redistricting
Why Your Vote Matters: Michigan
November 3rd, 2018, 5:00pm by Sam Wang
It’s not too late to vote absentee! Stop by your local clerk’s office ASAP to request or drop off an absentee ballot. All ballots MUST be in your clerk’s hands by 8 p.m. on Tuesday. https://t.co/IzmzTNvILn — Progress Michigan (@ProgressMich) November 3, 2018 Whether you are progressive, conservative, or independent, there are many reasons to […]
Tags: 2018 Election · House · Politics · Redistricting
Three Ways To Maximize Your Power
October 6th, 2018, 3:52pm by Sam Wang
It’s exactly one month to the election. Here are three ways to maximize your power. 1) Students: Figure out the place where your vote matters the most. This site, Make My Vote Matter, figures it out for you. It’s developed by a scientist, Ursula Wong-Brown, and shows you which address has more competitive House/Senate/governor races. […]
Tags: 2018 Election · House · Politics · Senate
Thomas Hofeller, 1943-2018
August 19th, 2018, 9:59am by Sam Wang
Despite the near-certainty that Democrats will win the national popular vote for House races in November, I still estimate a 10% probability (and other forecasters, up to 25%) that Republicans will retain control. Why? Gerrymandering. More than anyone else, Tom Hofeller was responsible for the modern age of aggressive redistricting. He carried out this program […]
Tags: House · Politics · Redistricting
Politics & Polls #73: What does the North Carolina gerrymandering decision mean?
January 11th, 2018, 3:54pm by Sam Wang
Our podcast’s now available on Spotify! Today, Julian Zelizer and I discussed the North Carolina court decision. What does it mean for reform ahead? Listen to the new Politics & Polls.
Tags: Politics · Princeton · Redistricting
Politics & Polls #67: What happened in Virginia? with Larry Sabato and Geoffrey Skelley
November 17th, 2017, 9:48am by Sam Wang
Democrats scored big wins last week in New Jersey and Virginia elections. Julian Zelizer and I chew it over with Larry Sabato and Geoffrey Skelley. Plus a tiny bit about whether Alabama will elect a child molester as senator, or choose a Democrat who prosecutes KKK terrorists. Life is full of hard choices. All in […]
Politics & Polls: Charlottesville and our broken public discourse
August 17th, 2017, 12:09pm by Sam Wang
The route between public outrage and consequences for President Trump seems quite broken. Why? Julian Zelizer and I chew it over in the new Politics & Polls. The opening is especially lively. Later we get into the regular nerdery.
Sharp cutbacks at HuffPost Pollster
June 15th, 2017, 2:21pm by Sam Wang
Some news about HuffPost Pollster. Due to staff reductions, we have had to dramatically reduce the scope of what we track. — Ariel Edwards-Levy (@aedwardslevy) June 15, 2017 This is terrible news. As part of cutbacks at the Huffington Post, the tracking of polls will be curtailed dramatically. As reported by HuffPollster’s Ariel Edwards-Levy, they […]
Tags: Politics
Overcoming your own brain’s bias in the Comey/Trump case
June 7th, 2017, 6:21pm by Sam Wang
Our brains have powerful biases that help us maintain a coherent world view. However, sometimes those biases prevent us from integrating new evidence well. Today, the release of former FBI director James Comey provides an example. Most readers on the left and the right see it as powerful evidence that President Trump attempted to obstruct […]
