How to avoid Gerrymandering: a new algorithmic solution
Gregory B. Lush, Esteban Gamez, Владик Крейнович · scholarworks - UTEP (The University of Texas at El Paso) · 2007
Abstract—Subdividing an area into voting districts is often a very controversial issue. If we divide purely geographically, then minority groups may not be properly represented. If we start changing the borders of the districts to accommodate different population groups, we may end up with very artificial borders – borders which are often to set up in such a way as to give an unfair advantage to incumbents. In this paper, we describe redistricting as a precise optimization problem, and we propose a new algorithm for solving this problem. I. FORMULATION OF THE PRACTICAL PROBLEM The notion of electoral districts. In the USA and in many other countries, voting is done by electoral districts: • in elections to the US House of Representative, every federal voting district elects one representative; • in elections to the state legislature, each state district