Maria Cicenas
Gerrymandering RF / 1

Gerrymandering Resource File

Problem:

The United States Constitution provides that the House of Representatives shall be composed of some number (currently 435) of individuals who are elected from each state in proportion to the state’s population relative to that of the country as a whole. While this provides a way of determining how many representatives each state will have, it says nothing about how the district represented by a particular representative shall be determined geographically. This oversight has led to egregious (at least some people think so, usually not the incumbent) district shapes that look “unnatural” by some standards.
Hence the following question: Suppose you were given the opportunity to draw congressional districts for a state. How would you do so as a purely “baseline” exercise to create the “simplest” shapes for all the districts in a state? The rules include only that each district in the state must contain the same population. The definition of “simple” is up to you; but you need to make a convincing argument to voters in the state that your solution is fair. As an application of your method, draw geographically simple congressional districts for the state of New York.

National Level:

  • List of Member of the House by State (
  • Facts from the Office of the Clerk (

1. The current size, 435 Members, of the House of Representatives, was established by Public Law 62-5 on August 8, 1911 and took effect in 1913.

2. Under the Constitution, each state is entitled to at least one Representative, serving a two-year term. Additional seats are apportioned on the basis of the state's population. Congress fixes the size of the House of Representatives, and the procedure of apportioning the number among the states. State legislatures pass laws determining the physical boundaries of congressional districts, within certain constraints established by the Congress and Supreme Court (through its reapportionment and redistricting rulings). Each state is apportioned its number of Representatives by means of the Department of Commerce's decennial census. Further information on current congressional districts may be found at the US Census Bureau's Congressional Affairs Office page on Congressional District Profiles.

  • Article 1, Section 2 of the US Constitution

The Legislative Branch, House of Representatives

( )

"The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.

No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment."

  • State Populations (
  • Fixed number of representatives/district size will rise (

Key Facts:

1. The Census 2000 apportionment population was 281,424,177

2. Apportionment is the process of dividing the 435 memberships or seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the 50 states.

3. The number of representatives or seats in the U.S. House of Representatives has remained constant at 435 since 1911, except…

4. The average size of a congressional district based on the Census 2000 apportionment population will be 646,952

5. Gains/losses of seats among the states is also mentioned and analyzed

  • Maps of current state districts (
  • Quick Facts: Demographic/Economic data by city, county and state
  • US Department of Agriculture: Livestock and crops on state and county level

State Level (Kansas):

  • Kansas District populations by race ( )
  • School District Data: Each School district and stats (race, poverty, etc. from 1992-2008)
  • Kansas Economic Data by County: Employment, Income, Industry, Welfare, ect.
  • Kansas State Map Collect (other states available): (
  • State District Maps (

Local Level (Wichita):

  • City District Maps--individual (
  • City District Map-together (
  • Home Owners Associations in Wichita
  • Neighborhood Associations in Wichita
  • Wichita Data by zip code (population, home sells, race, etc.):
  • Average home listing price by neighborhood in Wichita
  • Median house value by neighborhood (definition of neighborhood different from above site)
  • GIS Software for the city of Wichita
  • Finding Census Tract Data on the Internet (smallest statistical breakdown of data—approximately one city block—data on population, race, economic, social, etc )
  • According Charter Ordinance No 173 for the city of Wichita, these are the guidelines each district must meet:

CHARTER ORDINANCE NO. 173(Exert)

"SECTION 8. Revision of Boundary Lines. Commencing in July of 1990, in July of 1992, in July of 2002, and in July of every tenth year thereafter, the Council shall appoint a commission of the electors of the City who shall examine the plan of districts and shall, by September 30 of each such year, recommend to the Council such revisions in the boundary lines of the districts so as to meet the requirements stated below in Section 9. On or prior to December 31 of each such year, the Council by ordinary ordinance shall re-establish the district boundaries as recommended by the commission of electors or shall reject, in whole or in part the recommendations of the commission of electors and reestablish the boundaries as it sees fit so as to meet the requirements stated below in Section 9. The Council shall certify the boundaries so re-established to the Election Commissioner of Sedgwick County. The commission appointed to recommend revisions to district lines shall have at least one elector from each district.

Any territory hereafter annexed to or consolidated with the City of Wichita, Kansas, shall at the time of such annexation or consolidation be added to an adjacent district or districts by an ordinary ordinance of the Council; provided that if any territory annexed or consolidated prior to June 1 of the year preceding a City election shall contain qualified voters sufficient in number to upset the approximate equality of the established districts by a deviation of ten percent (10%) or more, the Council shall provide for redistricting the City in accord with the procedures described in this section.

In the event that the revision of district boundaries shall result in an incumbent Council member residing outside that member's district, such Council member shall continue to be qualified to serve until the completion of the term for which elected. Further, if a Council member moves out of the district from which elected within four (4) months of the end of the members term, such member shall continue to be qualified to complete the term for which elected."

SECTION 2. Section 9 of Charter Ordinance No. 112 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 9. Requirements for Re-establishing District Boundary Lines. The boundary lines for the six (6) Council districts shall be re-established by the commission of electors and Council so as to:

1. Contain within each district a population which to the greatest extent feasible is equal to one-sixth ( 1/6) of the total population of the City, but which under no circumstances shall be greater or less than one-sixth ( 1/6) of the total population of the City by more than five percent (5%), based on the U.S. decennial census or upon the most current population data then available.

2. Maintain a reasonably compact area in each district and avoid any noncontiguous zones or any unusually exaggerated extension of district lines.

3. Follow election precinct lines as established by the Sedgwick County Election Commissioner and be described in terms of the wards and precincts contained in each district.

4. Avoid use of number of registered voters by party or other partisan data.

5. Maintain, as much as possible, the integrity of broadly cohesive areas of interest."

  • Sedgwick County precinct lines
  • Naming precincts
  • Precinct Data (gender/age/party-- only registered voters?)

Mathematical Approaches:

1. Shortest Split Line Algorithm

2.Geometric Restrictions (Convexity and Stoutness)—this guy is film producernot valuable??

3.Shortest distance to geographical center of the district—looks as though you can join a "group" and have access to his code

4. Proportional Representation—another way to create a governing body without using districts

  • Find the book Spatial Analysis and GIS by Stewart Fotheringham and Peter Rogerson

Ch 11 on optimization modeling in political redistricting

  • Journal of Statistical Software BARD: Better Automated Redistricting by Micah Altman and Michael P. McDonald

An article describing the BARD software which creates districts for you and will produce reports comparing various possible districts.

  • Dave's Redistricting Application:

Comments on the applications: