Wow! Just wow!

The NYT Editorial Board will hate it, but f**k them!

---

by: davybaby @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 13:46:35 PM UTC

Wow...I think

this might be the map that finally causes the Supreme Court to put some sort of limits on partisan gerrymandering.

21, Male, Democrat, MD-02 (home/registered), MD-05 (college)

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by: Rupper @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 13:51:29 PM UTC

bingo

Those long skinny districts are not going to cut it.

---

by: desmoinesdem @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 20:57:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Of course they're gonna cut it!

It looks like the state's been sliced up like a bell pepper under the knife of a masterful chef!

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 20:59:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Reminds me of the beautiful IA map that turned King's district D+something.

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by: JimM @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 04:38:03 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks, that was me!

Here's a link to my Iowa diary if anyone is interested: http://www.swingstateproject.c...

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by: possumtracker1991 @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 08:00:51 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

that was a great one

I included it in my massive linkfest on Iowa politics in 2009 at Bleeding Heartland.

---

by: desmoinesdem @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 20:45:56 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

My hat is off to you.

Somewhere Elbridge Gerry is wryly smiling.

You sir, are a true artist.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11

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by: spiderdem @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 14:01:23 PM UTC

:))

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by: abgin @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 17:18:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

This one definitely wins the Phil Burton "Contribution to Modern Art" award

The effect of conjoining flowing lines with the occasional splotch of color is quite stunning.  Truly revolutionary. I could totally see it hanging in a museum.  My hat is off to you!

28, Unenrolled, MA-08

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by: Marcus @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 14:16:25 PM UTC

My Opinion

 I really like the creativity and the safety of all the Democrats! My only concern is that this map is a bit too convoluted for my taste and I do not know if the Democrats want to go all out for a map like this. Great map though!

for more election analysis, visit  http://frogandturtle.blogspot....

17, CA-06,  

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by: Alibguy @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 14:26:59 PM UTC

Wow

It's beautifully, but completely absurd as a congressional map. This is taking the contest to an abstract level.  

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by: brittain33 @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 15:01:43 PM UTC

"beautiful", I mean

I like the colors.  

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by: brittain33 @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 15:02:09 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Oh my freakin' gawd...

It came without ribbons!

And it has them now!

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 15:35:38 PM UTC

More seriously, there are problems with this approach

If you have a large swath of rural western New York represented by someone from the Upper West side you may cause trouble from them due to regional identity politics.  For Example, an Obama voter in the Southern Tier may not want to be represented by a "Manhattan Liberal" even though they'd be perfectly happy with someone like Eric Massa.

28, Unenrolled, MA-08

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by: Marcus @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 15:47:45 PM UTC

We Gerryists

do not concern ourselves with such petty matters as "cultures", "people wanting to represented by people like themselves", and "the law".

Okay, maybe not that last one.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 16:17:15 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Agree

Some people would change their votes because the map is so gerrymandered. Maybe not that many, but enough to make a difference and offset a good amount of the generic partisan advantage that the map otherwise provides. For that reason, these seats may really be more like 55% Obama seats.

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by: MattTX2 @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 16:20:38 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

maybe but i think these democrats are favored in the model

I think democrats from the west or north are favored in this model because in the majority of linear districts what goes to New York city finding more democratic votes, the incumbents are from the west and the north. These incumbents would be supported and helped by democratic votes from New York City.

And you can have the opposite effect, republicans from the City, what are much more moderates than other republicans from the upstate can vote more easily democratic incumbents from the west and the north of the state.

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by: abgin @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 17:05:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Do people from the "five bouroughs" still

refer to their town as "The City"?

One thing I learned from my time upstate is that phrase epitomizes the arrogance of anyone from downstate. I'm surprised that the various secession movements haven't gained more strength.

One admittedly R option is discussed here http://www.rochestercitynewspa...  

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by: tietack @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 16:22:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

No

Only Manhattan is referred to as "The City." And if you're in the Bay Area, San Francisco is "The City." It all depends on your point of reference.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  

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by: Pan @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 21:05:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Arrogance? Really?

Everyone in Minnesota refers to Minneapolis/St Paul as "the cities".  Granted, I dont think there is nearly as much animosity between Greater Minnesota and MSP vs Upstate and NYC.  We take up a lot of funding in many regards, but we pay back Greater Minnesota with all of our tourism and camping up North where most of the lakes are.  (If you are ever looking for a fab place to rent a cabin or go camping, northern Minnesota is serene.)

But arrogance?  Sorry for recognizing the economic and cultural center of the state and monogramming it into the phrase "the city".  Lame.

---

by: Andrew @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 02:55:03 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I think the arrogance quotient is much lower in MN

(mods, please forgive this digression, but Andrew asks a legit question.)

Just to be clear - "arrogance" is a personal observation from my time as a foul mouthed kid, not anything objective.

My wife grew up near Alec... but even in MSP, I've found that "Minnesota nice" is real :)

meanwhile I grew up (in upstate NY) around people who wished that NYC would separate itself and leave the rest of us alone. They do not recognize NYC as the center of anything. For me as a kid, "downstate" started at the thruway (I-90), the approximate physical N/S midline of NY State.

But despite my age, I still think NYC is much less accessible to upstaters than MSP is to the rest of the state. At least for me, after having travelled extensively, I still feel more fear w/r/t NYC than any other major world metropolis.

So yes, the reaction comes in part from fear.

---

by: tietack @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 05:44:32 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yeah, it's not arrogance

I'm sure every major city has a bubble around it in which most people call it "the city." NYC, being so huge, just has a bigger bubble. But yeah, even people from the outer boroughs refer specifically to Manhattan as "the city."

And also, you have nothing to fear! NYC is the safest big city in the country, and the crime rate keeps dropping.

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by: DavidNYC @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 05:52:18 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I do [i]not[/i] claim that the fear is rational

(just like the rest of my feelings as a kid)

---

by: tietack @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 05:54:44 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

So keep this in mind: It's not Manhattanites' fault

that people from other places call Manhattan "The City." To me, the entire City of New York is "The City," but people in Brooklyn and Queens don't seem to agree with me. :-)

How about if we make a deal? You drop the claim that the expression "The City" is an expression of Manhattanites' arrogance (we, after all, live here, so naturally it's "The City" to us!), and I won't post about malapportionment of state funding except where it's directly relevant. Cool?

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  

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by: Pan @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 08:02:12 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The (irrational) perception of mine is that

people from metro NYC - not just Manhattan - or really not just the five boroughs, believe that NYC is the center of the universe, ala the New Yorker cartoon map.

And in my perception, NYC is more than Manhattan, despite the post office definition.

However, I do my best to keep such perceptions from affecting my judgments of people from the area.

Nevertheless, my stereotypes of people of the area jump out of me on occasion.

Trying to get back towards topic, I'm trying to explain some of the animus between upstate and metro NYC, from a personal perspective.

---

by: tietack @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 15:24:34 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Upstate, Downstate

I typed up a longish post but decided it was off topic, so I'll just say that I think a lot of the animus of Upstaters for New York City is based on a lie: They think that New York City is living off their money. Instead, the opposite is true, although the disproportionate funding for Upstate is not uniform and often doesn't go where it's most needed.

As for Upstaters' envy of the city, it strikes me as sort of pointless, given that our city shares the name of the state, and therefore, at least 99% of the world thinks of New York as the city, not the state. The whole state of New York would do well to embrace a degree of identification with or at least appreciation of the city that makes it so famous, even while maintaining separate regional identities (obviously, Buffalo is a very different city and Western New York is a very different region than New York City). If you were to subtract the city and rename the state, you'd also watch it lose significance nationally and worldwide.

I'm not fully convinced even this post is on-topic, so I will probably bow out of this tangent now.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  

---

by: Pan @ Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 02:25:55 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Another "City"

I was shocked to hear some of my Kansan friends and relatives recently refer to Kansas City as "the City". Having grown up there in the suburbs, I'd not really heard that phrase. But apparently, all the cool kids are saying it now*.

In terms of urban agglomerations, part of the reason NYC gets so much guff from upstate is that their size/influence is overwhelming. When you say "New York" to folks outside New England, they usually assume you mean the city, not the state. That would get annoying to New Yorkers who've never ridden a subway.

But in the Midwest, most folks are generally positive toward "The City", if for no other reason than they don't have to drive all the way to Denver or St. Louis to shop....or have to settle for Wichita.

*Cool Kids Source: my little brother

Kansan by birth, Californian by choice, and Gay by the grace of God.

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by: arealmlc @ Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 16:41:55 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Even in New England

"New York" means the city.

21, dude, RI-01 (registered) IL-01 (college)
please help Japan. click "donate funds" in upper right and then "Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami." http://www.redcross.org/

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by: sapelcovits @ Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 05:30:46 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I don't get it

"But in the Midwest, most folks are generally positive toward "The City", if for no other reason than they don't have to drive all the way to Denver or St. Louis to shop....or have to settle for Wichita."

What do you mean by this?

Also, I always call the city "New York City".  I REALLY hate it when people refer to it rather than the state when they say "New York".

(Same goes for people using "LA" to mean Los Angeles, and "USC" to mean "University of Southern California".  My fellow political junkies, you know what I think of when I see "LA" or "SC".)

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 18:41:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

surely there are problems

Every incumbent should adapt to the new district. Some goes from R+5 to D+7 and some others goes from D+20 to D+7. Every district should find a new balance. Very much districts are very differents to current districts, but democratic vote is here, i think helping incumbents. For improve the worst districts you must quit from the safest districts.

For the linear districts, a big basis of democratic vote come from New York City area. This districts are a strongly democratic nucleus in New York City with a strongly republican area out New York City in charge. This is necessary for keep high the level of democratic vote in every district.

In all the state (out New York City), the more democratic areas form the districts what needs not to enter in the area of New York City (27th, 28th, 26th, 25th, 23th or 19th and 1st or 2nd in Long Island, all they with local incumbents), and the more republican areas form the districts what goes to New York City area finding a lot of democratic votes. Some of they with incumbents from New York City, and others with incumbents from out of New York City. The stablishment should help they.

In this diary i find the limits :)

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by: abgin @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 16:27:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

You did

find the limits. :)

It would be very difficult to squeeze out more Democratic districts than you did. Congratulations on a monumental effort.

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by: MattTX2 @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 16:36:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

thanks :)

My 15th and 16th have a little reserve for improve more districts respecting the VRA conditions, but I find not the way for up the 58% districts to 59%. The 19th can not access to the New York City areas and that make very difficult to improve.

Thanks :)

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by: abgin @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 17:15:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Me like

I had thought about this in theory. It is quite something to see it in practice! Very colorful.

By comparison, all the other maps look like paragons of good government redistricting. :)

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by: MattTX2 @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 16:25:16 PM UTC

I'm still stunned at how the southern part of the western tip of the state got connected to

something in one of those zoomed-in maps.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 16:28:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I was drinking coffee

when I saw. That was a mistake.

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by: MattTX2 @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 16:36:08 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yeah, wow

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by: andgarden @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 16:57:31 PM UTC

I didn't think this was possible

I thought most districts would peter out around Schoharie and Delaware for the most part. You proved me wrong.

It's absurd, but it's wonderfully so.

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by: Englishlefty @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 18:42:51 PM UTC

This probably

will not win the babka, but it deserves some kind of consolation prize for all-around awesomeness.  Maybe a delicious knish.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11

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by: spiderdem @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 19:56:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

This is insane

It's beautiful to look at and definitely an interesting exercise, but there's no way a map with such huge driving distances between one end of so many districts and the other will be approved. It's impractical. Still, hats off to you!

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  

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by: Pan @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 21:08:44 PM UTC

One million cocktails to you, sir

That is an affront to compactness, good government, and basic decency. I like it a lot.

I mean, really.  It's stunning in its stark beauty.

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by: Trapper John @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 22:42:03 PM UTC

I will not compete in this contest.

Not anymore. I can't.

This is artistry.  

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by: brownsox @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 22:53:26 PM UTC

You only have 5 stripes through Long Island

Answer Guy beat you. He has 6 stripes through Long Island.

26, male, Dem, NJ-12

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by: duffman @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 23:15:02 PM UTC

6 Stripes?

I guess I'm kind of embarassed that I came up with something even more absurd in an abstract sense than someone deliberatly casting non-absurdity to the wind. :)

I had thought of it as 4 stripes, since Lowey doesn't have anything other than Great Neck and the Port Washington area and Bishop's district doesn't cross onto the main part of Long Island in Nassau County.  

Oh, well.

If one wasn't nervous about pushing Ackerman and/or Lowey below 60% and wasn't as concerned about getting both Bishop and Israel into 55+% Obama disticts, it'd be pretty easy to take my plan and reduce the number of stripes.


36, M, Democrat, MD-03

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by: Answer Guy @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 23:45:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

10 stripes

If you draw a line from the northeast corner of Putnam to the west corner of Rockland, in that distance of 40 miles you will go through 10 congressional districts!

26, male, Dem, NJ-12

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by: duffman @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 23:39:26 PM UTC

wow just wow

What a superb map. Profoundly impractical but fantastically well done! Thanks for making me chortle - big time.

2010 Race Tracker Wiki

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by: benawu @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 00:27:41 AM UTC

imagine going on Better Know A District if you represent one of these

26, male, Dem, NJ-12

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by: duffman @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 02:08:48 AM UTC

Bold, very bold!

Not to be a bitch but I wont give you credit for coming up with such a concept as Im sure many of us have thought in our various redistricting projects to do something of this nature.  

BUT, you are the only to have done it, and for a contest no less.  What a great job!  I bet it was downright tedious and frustrating and my hat is off to you.

Maloney's district is my absolute fave.  Not only is it a hot mess, but when you think about it being the Upper East Side and combining it with sections of what Im assuming are rich GOP areas of Long Island, the district actually makes sense.

Id tweak if I were a resident of Yonkers, however.  

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by: Andrew @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 03:08:08 AM UTC

Love It!

That is amazing!  lol this is great!  I think this map easily takes the top spot for most whacked out gerrymanders of a state!

Love It! Love It! Love It!

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by: TXMichael @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 04:51:53 AM UTC

well

Given that compactness is not a requirement to win I think that this map will take the babka.

2010 Race Tracker Wiki

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by: benawu @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 13:03:59 PM UTC

Republican's Heads explode

If the thought of having an entire NY Delegation be made up of safe, reliable Democratic votes, doesn't make their heads explode, then the fact that the map looks like a beautiful and fabulous gay pride rainbow flag should! kudos! I'm against gerrymandering, but its awesome to see it in theory, if not in practice! Great work!

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by: Venslor @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 20:05:12 PM UTC

Congrats on getting on DKos front page!

I love the fact that the Upper East Side is connected to the Hamptons...it's actually kind of fitting. Also, love that the Bronx is in the same district as Rome.  

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan

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by: nycyoungin @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 20:41:47 PM UTC

Actually

This NY-14 takes in the North Fork, which is not considered part of the Hamptons. Those are still part of Tim Bishop's district in the South Fork.

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by: DavidNYC @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 21:55:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Good call n/t

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan

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by: nycyoungin @ Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 05:41:53 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

LOL

When it comes to redistricting I am normally pretty conservative, I like my districts compact and communities of interest kept intact, but your NY rainbow map made me smile. I think I can hear Freepers heads exploding from here. I may have to try something like this for Minnesota.

"Where free Unions and collective bargaining is forbidden, freedom is lost." - Ronald Reagan

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by: MinnesotaMike @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 21:39:27 PM UTC

Really phenomenal work

This is one of the most incredible maps I have ever seen and it is so creative and ingenious. From what I understood, the contest was not necessarily about whether the plan would be adopted in real life, it was mostly an exercise in creating a map that was as Democratic as possible and that was creative at the same time, which this map does so well.

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by: possumtracker1991 @ Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 04:12:58 AM UTC

You're NY-15 will be in the courts

and I imagine it would probably lose, as a White candidate would be heavily favored to succeed Rangel. While there's a reasonable chance that Rangel's successor in the current NY-15 will be White, s/he would have to get there by currying substantial support from district's minority population. Among other things, I imagine the district is vulnerable to a challenge on League of United Latin American Citizens v. Texas grounds.

Granted, it's not like it would be impossible to argue that the loss of a seat "requires" that the balance of racial power in this district has to be shifted. I don't know all of the circumstances around the 2000 redistricting of NY-17, but it shifted it from a plurality Black district to majority White.

NY-07 probably has a similar problem, though. The point is that I think there's a very good chance that a judge takes one look at your map and throws just about every district in Manhattan and the Bronx out the window.

Overall though, good work in the context of the contest. An atrocious prospect in terms of public policy, but that's not what we're here for, is it :)

22, Democrat, AZ-01
Peace. Love. Gabby.

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by: Nico @ Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 04:52:25 AM UTC

NY-15 and NY-16

I try to respect the conditions of the contest. If NY-15 is signaled like minority-majority district, this 15th would have not problems, but if must be a hispanic majority district or a 47% hipanic district, i think the conditions needs to be more open for the 16th district where is necessary a 60% hispanic.

If I would be member of the League of United Latin American Citizens v. Texas grounds I would not challenge this.

---

by: abgin @ Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 06:33:25 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

You're right that you meet the requirements of the contest

The problems are if this map is applied during actual redistricting. You've cracked the Hispanic and Black communities in Manhattan and the Bronx and turned a district that gave some of them a voice and that favored a Hispanic or Black representative into a district that probably favors more than anyone a White representative from Lower Manhattan. It is Minority-Majority district, but Whites have a 17% edge over anyone else. Once you factor in registered voters, that gulf widens, possibly putting Whites over 50% of the likely electorate. I don't see the DOJ going for it, and even if they do, minority voter protection groups will fight it tooth and nail.

22, Democrat, AZ-01
Peace. Love. Gabby.

---

by: Nico @ Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 07:10:09 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

But aren't "coalition" districts like this

Protected under the VRA? See the dicta in Bartlett v. Strickland.

---

by: DavidNYC @ Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 09:02:34 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

OH-11

I've been dinking around with OH and while I've done some magic everywhere else around the state, making a black majority district out of the east side of Cleveland while having to expand the districts due to losing 2 of them, I just cant  dont do it.  Black plurality, definitely, majority....  No idea how.

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by: Andrew @ Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:06:29 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I have problems for send the XML archive

My email tell it is excessively big (10.2 MB).

What can be the better way for send the archive? Other emails can send this archive?

---

by: abgin @ Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 05:38:50 AM UTC

Are you sending it through GMAIL?

They generally have the best attachment limits. Anyway, your best bet would be to upload it to an upload site (like http://www.rapidshare.com/ ) and link to it in your email.  

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by: sulthernao @ Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 06:30:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

thanks by your help

helpful for me

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by: abgin @ Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 12:27:51 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Brilliant set of slithering snakes!

NY-13, Democrat. Blog @ http://infinitefunction.wordpr...

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by: Taget @ Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 15:39:21 PM UTC

I saw this for the first time looking at the tweet the SSP profile just posted

May make me want to Gerrymander the hell out of CA and make it look similar.

20, Male, Democrat, CA-44 (home) CA-12 (college)

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by: daman09 @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 04:12:08 AM UTC

This map is both hilarious and diabolically evil.

20, center-left independent, Auckland Central resident, MD-05 voter, OR-01 native

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by: SaoMagnifico @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 05:04:10 AM UTC