Fixing Bugs in Democracy: Gerrymandering, part 1 of 5

This is an intensive five-day workshop. To register for this intensive workshop, please register on part 1 of 5.

Recent research as well as judicial rulings have emphasized how electoral maps are often designed to serve partisan purposes. Ensuring fair representation is critical to a vibrant democracy, but remains a challenge for the United States. Gerrymandering, or the manipulation of electoral district boundaries to establish a political advantage, is widely recognized as a practice that fundamentally undermines democracy. We are currently in a critical moment. We plan to share our findings, and educate the public on how they can best fight this crucial problem.

What to expect:
We propose to break down the Wintersession into multiple classes: law, data, and policy. Predominantly, the sessions will focus on the unique data and legal problems which are present in gerrymandering. Among these: "How do we know if a district is gerrymandered?" "Can we prove that such a district would be better off with a different shape?" "How does the history of the Voting Rights Act interconnect with gerrymandering?" "What is the role of data in redistricting justice?" "What is the best strategy for systemic outreach in the problem of unfair districting?" Our outcome is to create informed, interested citizens who have the tools to fight gerrymandering. We propose a combination of hands-on and lecture pedagogy. Furthermore, we hope to run a simulation at the end of the class, a "boiler room," which would echo real-world redistricting situations.

Meet the facilitator:
My name is Jason Rhode; I'm the national coordinator for Princeton University's Gerrymandering Project. My colleagues and I will teach the program. The point people for the Wintersession introduction process will be me and my colleague Hannah Wheelen. If you want the bios of the project, they are available here: http://gerrymander.princeton.edu/team/

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