Princeton Election Consortium

Here’s the new Congressional map for Pennsylvania, drawn by advisor to the court Nate Persily. I think it’s a landmark contribution to the understanding of partisan fairness, in one of the most politically heterogeneous states in the Union – “Pennsatucky.” For anyone who’s drawn such maps, this particular one is a pleasure to look at. […]

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The following analysis is a team effort by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project. John O’Neill drew maps which he, Brian Remlinger, Will Adler, and Madeleine Parker analyzed. For other people’s plans, we cited the work of Brian Amos. In a previous post, we evaluated the Pennsylvania GOP leaders’ proposal for redrawing the congressional map and found […]

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As the old political-science saying goes, “all redistricting is gerrymandering.” Inevitably, choices and tradeoffs have to be made. When it comes to representation, the resulting map can end up balanced – unless partisan advantage is made the primary criterion. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court set down clear “floor criteria” for what was absolutely required in the […]

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Mathematicians have been working hard to create ways to measure #Gerrymandering. 2017 was a big year on this: accumulating evidence showed PA most gerrymandered of all by two measures, among five worst by any measure. We all lose our voice when our votes don't count. pic.twitter.com/5fgCxTc00r — LWV Pennsylvania (@LWVPA) February 13, 2018 Today, Philly.com […]

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An image of the Pennsylvania legislature’s proposed Congressional map has been released. It appears to be nominally in compliance with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s order, since it splits fewer counties than the current map. However, as we have seen in North Carolina, a prettier map can still conceal ill intent. Despite the low resolution, enough […]

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Today, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito denied Republican legislators’ request for a stay of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s redistricting decision. That decision overturned the state’s partisan gerrymander, and remains in place. Therefore the drawing of new maps will go forward. Here’s a quick rundown of what the decision does – and doesn’t – mean.

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