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Simple math can help scheming politicians manipulate district maps and cruise to victory. But it can also help identify and fix the problem.
Imagine fighting a war on 10 battlefields. You and your opponent each have 200 soldiers, and your aim is to win as many battles as possible. How would you deploy your troops? If you spread them out evenly, sending 20 to each battlefield, your opponent could concentrate their own troops and easily win a majority of the fights. You could try to overwhelm several locations yourself, but there's no guarantee you'll win, and you'll leave the remaining battlefields poorly defended. Devising a winning strategy isn't easy, but as long as neither side knows the other's plan in advance, it's a fair fight.
Now imagine your opponent has the power to deploy your troops as well as their own. Even if you get more troops, you can't win.
In the war of politics, this power to deploy forces comes from gerrymandering, the age-old practice of manipulating voting districts for partisan gain. By determining who votes where, politicians can tilt the odds in their favor and defeat their opponents before the battle even begins.
Anyone for a game of RISK?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 22 2017, @08:15PM (5 children)
Lol, whoever modded you insightful is a sociopath and/or moron.
(Score: 2, Troll) by Fluffeh on Sunday October 22 2017, @08:54PM (2 children)
Some people just want to watch the world burn... Or, you know, they have a sense of humor.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday October 22 2017, @11:02PM
This isn't funny anymore though. When your humor starts pinging peoples' Poe sensors, it's time to re-evaluate. He should stick to toilet humor and similar, as it's all he's really good at. I don't think he's joking anymore, either.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 23 2017, @08:49AM
And some people like to rub their dicks with cheese graters. It doesn't mean most people will understand that either.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 22 2017, @10:11PM (1 child)
While a bit inflammatory California does have a major gerrymandering problem plus an extra issue. In many cases they have worked it out so there is no republican representation.
(Score: 5, Informative) by WalksOnDirt on Sunday October 22 2017, @10:35PM
California has no gerrymandering, though they used to. The district boundaries are now set by a non-partisan commission, not politicians.