How We Know Wisconsin’s Maps are Gerrymandered
Episode description
Political parties have long known that controlling WHO can vote in an election carries a strategic advantage. Pick your voters, win your election. Hence, we fight over maps.
Data science has made it easier than ever to create maps designed to ensure political outcomes. We now have fewer political districts that look like odd-shaped creatures and more that come from strategic targeting of voters based on data profiles and algorithms.
Princeton University’s Gerrymandering Project calls Wisconsin’s political maps “some of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders in the United States.” The U.S. Supreme Court declined to strike down Wisconsin’s political maps in 2018. But there are two new lawsuits asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to do so now.
Jordan Ellenberg, UW-Madison math professor, explains how he can prove Wisconsin’s maps are gerrymandered.
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