Gerrymandering: are you evil or just really bad at math?

I love my adopted state of North Carolina.When I moved here 20 years ago, it was southern and religious and progressive, at the same exact time. It always felt like it wanted to be better and was enacting well thought out laws to do that.

Something happened in the last, many years that has brought a machiavellian approach to politics in North Carolina. The most glaring evidence of that is the violation of voting decency and the gross gerrymandering of our beautiful state. Instead of striving for representation and involvement, our elected officials are rigging the game.

"Meet the Math Professor Who’s Fighting Gerrymandering With Geometry"
Her name is Moon Duchin and she seems smarts, humble and is about to train up an army of  mathematicians to testify in Gerrymandering cases. They have a summer session August 7 to 11. I hope the 1st three days are streamed and we can have a viewing party in Durham.

"Compactness in Redistricting"

Never heard of Polsby-Popper? Me neither, but this article was fun to read: 

• Reock or Dispersion Measure of Compactness: Ratio of area of a district to the smallest circle you can enclose the district in. (I know!!! How brilliant!) 
• Polsky-Popper (Perimeter Measure); Ratio of the area to the Ration of the area of a circle with the same perimeter. (My words: If you made a took the fence around this district and made a circle how much of other people's lawn would you have to mow.) 
• Grofman Interocular Measure: Like pornography, it is hard to define but you know it when you see it. And you, NC District 9, look very very dirty to me. 
• Contiguity: Can you travel from one point to another without leaving the district. 
• But remember, pretty doesn't always mean fair 

" Schwarzenegger rips gerrymandering"
Even the terminator hates gerrymandering. My favorite line "the politicians pick their voters"

"The Supreme Court just delivered a major victory for gerrymandering opponents"
My husband told me about this ruling this way "You know it is bad when it is an 8-0 ruling of our Supreme Court". And Justice Thomas added that not only district 11 and 12 are unconstitutional but all the VA districts are. This is a good win for keeping the races out of special interest.

"Barack Obama is returning to politics to fight gerrymandering"
Looks like a good time to be involved in this hot topic:

• National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) is getting ready for 2021 when states redraw their districts: https://democraticredistricting.com/
• Eric Holder is chairing NDRC and apparently President Obama will be joining him. 

And now some music, Formidable by Stromae

Cheers,
Ginny