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Open Source Tool Lets Anyone Redistrict New York

Posted by timothy on from the move-staten-island-a-bit-closer-to-the-bronx dept.

First time accepted submitter Micah_Altman writes "As the next redistricting battle shapes up in New York, members of the public have an opportunity to create viable alternatives. Unlike the previously reported crowdsourced redistricting of Los Angeles, the public mapping of New York is based on open source software — anyone can use this to set up their own public web-based redistricting effort."

2 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. A novel concept ... by fsckmnky · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Solve the problem once, and not more than once.

    Standardize on a re-districting algorithm, and use it.

    Social Securities funds wouldn't be in the toilet, if someone just hit re-calc once a year, on the spreadsheet that contained formulas that accounted for the dynamic nature of the population. Instead, we get to argue over static numbers until the sun explodes.

    Dumb.

  2. Re:Eliminate districts by Patrick+May · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Perhaps you should spend some time looking into alternative voting systems before flaming on Slashdot. In an at large system with N representatives for M people, any candidate getting M/N votes will get a seat. That increases the chances of a minority view being heard. In a gerrymandered system, the incumbent parties can ensure that the minority view is spread out over every district, diluting it to insignificance.