Fair redistricting: Texas

[jimrtex]

Oh, and jimrtex, there's no need to invent a new name for the Dorchester, Berkeley, and Charleston combo.  Trident works quite well and is used for far more than just the local technical college.

That's not a new name.

Who uses it? Granted, I don't live in the Trident myself, but I find it hard to believe that anyone but a bureaucrat would willingly use such an ungainly appellation as Ashley-Cooper&Atlantic.

Where the Ashley and Cooper meet to form the Atlantic Ocean?

[jimrtex]

I showed that it was possible to draw two CDs with majority BVAP. Though the VRA is not a consideration, communities of interest are. The black population in southern SC would qualify as a community of interest.

The goal is also fair maps, and that can mean partisan fairness; certainly that's what's being litigated in the courts. SC is an R+8 PVI and that projects to an ideal delegation of 4R, 2D, and 1 even seat in PVI to have now skew. My submission had a delegation of 5R, 1D, and 1 even.

As an alternate plan B, I can add 3 county chops for a total of 6 and lose the Charleston UCC pack. The new CD 2 is D+4.7 with a 43.7% BVAP, so it moves the plan closer to partisan fairness (5D 2R) while providing an opportunity to elect the black candidate of choice.

Here's the original map and a zoom showing the modified CD 1 and CD 2. The Charleston chop follows I-26 into central Charleston. The Aiken chop is shifted and there is a minor adjustment of the Anderson chop to balance population. Revised stats follow the map.

You likely have the highlighted inverted.

[cvparty]

I showed that it was possible to draw two CDs with majority BVAP. Though the VRA is not a consideration, communities of interest are. The black population in southern SC would qualify as a community of interest.

The goal is also fair maps, and that can mean partisan fairness; certainly that's what's being litigated in the courts. SC is an R+8 PVI and that projects to an ideal delegation of 4R, 2D, and 1 even seat in PVI to have now skew. My submission had a delegation of 5R, 1D, and 1 even.

As an alternate plan B, I can add 3 county chops for a total of 6 and lose the Charleston UCC pack. The new CD 2 is D+4.7 with a 43.7% BVAP, so it moves the plan closer to partisan fairness (5D 2R) while providing an opportunity to elect the black candidate of choice.

Here's the original map and a zoom showing the modified CD 1 and CD 2. The Charleston chop follows I-26 into central Charleston. The Aiken chop is shifted and there is a minor adjustment of the Anderson chop to balance population. Revised stats follow the map.

You likely have the highlighted inverted.

naw

[Sol]

If I knew whether partisan fairness or minority representation was more important, I'd know which of my alternate plans to submit as a second choice. More importantly, I'd have a sense of how to weight the variables in upcoming states.

Speaking only as myself and not for the other panelists, minority representation and conforming to the VRA is more important to me, though obviously both are good. A lot is ofc context dependent, but generally I'd order the factors in my evaluation as something like:

Minority representation>Urban Areas/UCCs>Communities of Interest>Erosity>Partisan Composition

Please let me know if you need any more clarification

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

This was my submission. I almost hesitated to submit it, because Jimrtex and some others have made superior ones.

[Sol]

This was my submission. I almost hesitated to submit it, because Jimrtex and some others have made superior ones.

Why the ugly tendril into Spartanburg?

[Pennsylvania Deplorable]

My focus was geography, without regard to the VRA. This actually hurts republicans who normally get to pack black voters into a single democrat district.

District 1: R+18.77, 75.5% white 14.4% black, deviation -614
District 2: R+13.22, 70.8% white 21.1% black, deviation 270
District 3: R+12.37, 65.3% white 28.3% black, deviation 228
District 4: D+0.20, 58.0% white 32.9% black, deviation -103
District 5: R+9.16, 63.5% white 29.6% black, deviation -11
District 6: R+1.05, 55.8% white 37.5% black, deviation 141
District 7: R+1.75, 59.5% white 30.0% black, deviation 91

4 solid R districts. 3 tossups.
5 county splits, 3 of which are just taking off small corners to keep deviation minimized

[jimrtex]

Two Black Districts.



Four White Districts

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Oh, and jimrtex, there's no need to invent a new name for the Dorchester, Berkeley, and Charleston combo.  Trident works quite well and is used for far more than just the local technical college.

That's not a new name.

Who uses it? Granted, I don't live in the Trident myself, but I find it hard to believe that anyone but a bureaucrat would willingly use such an ungainly appellation as Ashley-Cooper&Atlantic.

Where the Ashley and Cooper meet to form the Atlantic Ocean?

I got the reference.  My question was who uses it to define the region?  Trident is used by multiple agencies and businesses, but I can't find anyone other than you who uses Ashley-Cooper&Atlantic.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

This was my submission. I almost hesitated to submit it, because Jimrtex and some others have made superior ones.

Why the ugly tendril into Spartanburg?

I suspect he was trying to make his 2nd district as Democratic as possible with that tendril.

[jimrtex]

Oh, and jimrtex, there's no need to invent a new name for the Dorchester, Berkeley, and Charleston combo.  Trident works quite well and is used for far more than just the local technical college.

That's not a new name.

Who uses it? Granted, I don't live in the Trident myself, but I find it hard to believe that anyone but a bureaucrat would willingly use such an ungainly appellation as Ashley-Cooper&Atlantic.

Where the Ashley and Cooper meet to form the Atlantic Ocean?

I got the reference.  My question was who uses it to define the region?  Trident is used by multiple agencies and businesses, but I can't find anyone other than you who uses Ashley-Cooper&Atlantic.

Charleston.Com

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Or you could name the districts after famous people:

Ashley-Cooper
Francis Marion
Denmark Vesey
Wade Hampton
John C Calhoun
Charles Pinckney
Andrew Jackson

[Boobs]

Blue - D+9.89, -2,883
Green - R+8.91, -161
Purple - R+0.68, +226
Red - R+9.82, -238
Yellow - R+12.75, +1,585
Teal - R+19.10, -410
Grey - R+14.73, +1,883

A total of 4 counties are chopped, but only the blue district contains solely whole counties. Blue is also 43.5% BVAP, and is majority-minority, just barely. The rest are majority white.

[Dr. MB]

Blue - D+9.89, -2,883
Green - R+8.91, -161
Purple - R+0.68, +226
Red - R+9.82, -238
Yellow - R+12.75, +1,585
Teal - R+19.10, -410
Grey - R+14.73, +1,883

A total of 4 counties are chopped, but only the blue district contains solely whole counties. Blue is also 43.5% BVAP, and is majority-minority, just barely. The rest are majority white.

Why the "arm" near Georgetown?

[Boobs]

snip

Blue - D+9.89, -2,883
Green - R+8.91, -161
Purple - R+0.68, +226
Red - R+9.82, -238
Yellow - R+12.75, +1,585
Teal - R+19.10, -410
Grey - R+14.73, +1,883

A total of 4 counties are chopped, but only the blue district contains solely whole counties. Blue is also 43.5% BVAP, and is majority-minority, just barely. The rest are majority white.

Why the "arm" near Georgetown?

That's just the shape of the precincts along highway 17, for connectivity and not splitting Georgetown.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Oh, and jimrtex, there's no need to invent a new name for the Dorchester, Berkeley, and Charleston combo.  Trident works quite well and is used for far more than just the local technical college.

That's not a new name.

Who uses it? Granted, I don't live in the Trident myself, but I find it hard to believe that anyone but a bureaucrat would willingly use such an ungainly appellation as Ashley-Cooper&Atlantic.

Where the Ashley and Cooper meet to form the Atlantic Ocean?

I got the reference.  My question was who uses it to define the region?  Trident is used by multiple agencies and businesses, but I can't find anyone other than you who uses Ashley-Cooper&Atlantic.

Charleston.Com

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Or you could name the districts after famous people:

Ashley-Cooper
Francis Marion
Denmark Vesey
Wade Hampton
John C Calhoun
Charles Pinckney
Andrew Jackson

Or you could just use existing geographic names rather than inventing them from people's names and/or fanciful phrases. I realize it's a matter of taste, but using an eight syllable concoction instead of an existing two syllable widely used name leaves a rather bad taste in my mouth.

[jimrtex]

The RCOGs are invisible to the average citizen and are but one of multiple ways of grouping counties that exist in South Carolina.  The judicial circuits and the technical college system have far more impact. There probably other groupings that split the State without even counting special purpose multi-county areas that aren't established on a statewide basis.  One of the major weaknesses of South Carolina local government is the very real lack of coordination and high degree of geographic overlap.  (Which is also why school district and municipal boundaries will sometimes cross county lines.)

The RCOG's match the Technical College districts with the exception of Laurens and Union counties, and that may represent a more modern sensibility as Union is drawn toward Charlotte, and Laurens is drawn towards Columbia (down the interstate). The Technical College districts are often smaller than the planning regions. Williamsburg has its own technical district - presumably because it doesn't fit with Florence, Myrtle Beach, or Charleston. It couldn't have its own RCOG so somebody chose an RCOG for it.

I don't see how in the name of Vic Ralls that you think that average citizens are familiar with circuit court districts.

More so than than the COG's, as at the very least they vote for the solicitor thereof, so they at least have a decent chance of knowing they exist and which one they are in.  You do need to double check on your county names, as that's Newberry, not Laurens that got included in the CMCOG. Both the technical colleges and the COG's got set up in the 60's.  The technical colleges were generally set up with more local input than the top-down COG's and not all at the same time.  For instance, the reason Williamsburg has its own technical college is that facility also doubles as a vocational education center for high school students which is what that county wanted.

Also, for Union County, it makes far more sense to be included with Spartanburg as it is for technical schools since it's in the same MSA.  Union isn't even in the Charlotte CSA.  The only reason I can think of for why the Appalachian Council of Governments was chosen to be those six counties is in its name as those are the seven counties included in the Federal Appalachian Regional Commission which was also set up in 1965. I wouldn't be surprised if the only reason the COG's got set up at all was because of Federal prompting.

My gloss is that Williamsburg is a long way from Florence (in the northern part of its county) and Myrtle Beach. With a small stagnant population, they might have been concerned that they would be stuck with a small satellite campus. While it may be true that the high schools wanted to coordinate with the technical college, I doubt that is the reason for the separation.

Based on commuting, 59% of Williamsburg resident workers, worked in Willaimsburg, 14% each in Georgetown amd Florence, 4% in Clarendon, 4% in the Ashley-Cooper-plex, and 3% in Horry.

Clearly, Georgetown is appropriately placed in my map.

Lawyers would know who the solicitor is, and criminals who were prosecuted by them would, but I question whether run of the mill citizens. And even if a resident of Dorchester knew who their solicitor was, would they know the other counties, or the other circuit. And you probably won't argue that the 16th circuit makes sense as a community of interest. Do you? Or the 11th. Circuit courts tend to be created to balance case loads. It is a problem to change the boundaries, since that makes jurisdiction over current cases messy. If there is a parole hearing 20 years after conviction, who gets notified?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Clearly, Georgetown is appropriately placed in my map.

And when did anyone say anything about Georgetown?

Also you seem to have missed my point when I mentioned the judicial circuits.  It wasn't that they are well known, just that they are less obscure the the RCOG's.

[AustralianSwingVoter]

When are we going to move onto Georgia? South Carolina should have ended 3 days ago according to the deadlines on the original post.

[jimrtex]

Clearly, Georgetown is appropriately placed in my map.

And when did anyone say anything about Georgetown?

I should hire you as a proofreader.

(1) Williamsburg is in the Waccamaw RCOG with Georgetown and Horry. You objected to my use of the RCOGs. I'll assume that you don't think that just because Williamsburg has its own Technical College, that it should have its own congressional district.

Williamsburg residents who work outside the county largely do so in Georgetown and Florence (14% in each). Lesser numbers work in Horry, Clarendon, and in the three-county Ashley-Cooper-plex (refererred to by some as the BCDCOG, and apparently by some as the Trident) about 4% in each. Clearly there is an economic linkage.

I meant to say that Williamsburg is clearly not misplaced.

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Local government officials will be familiar with the RCOGs. If someone proposed circuits 1, 11, or 16 as RCOGs they would be laughed at. Only the solicitor and lawyers need to know the circuit jurisdictions. Defendants will be told by their lawyer and the bailiff where to show up for court appearances.

People will be familiar with the Technical College campuses in their county, and perhaps others nearby, whether in the same district. I highly doubt that anyone would eschew attending a campus in another district that provided training in field they were interested in.

RCOGs represent a reasonable grouping of counties for communities of interest. Circuit courts can be quite arbitrary, and may reflect case balancing. Long ago judges and lawyers rode circuit, literally riding by horse or buggy from courthouse to courthouse to try cases, hold court for a few days in each.

You aren'r related to Preston Brooks are you?

[cvparty]

When are we going to move onto Georgia? South Carolina should have ended 3 days ago according to the deadlines on the original post.

that’s the deadline for submissions, when voting is finished then we move on. (don’t want two states to overlap in each thread)

[AustralianSwingVoter]

When are we going to move onto Georgia? South Carolina should have ended 3 days ago according to the deadlines on the original post.

that’s the deadline for submissions, when voting is finished then we move on. (don’t want two states to overlap in each thread)

Ah, okay, thanks! So when will the voting finish?

[cvparty]

When are we going to move onto Georgia? South Carolina should have ended 3 days ago according to the deadlines on the original post.

that’s the deadline for submissions, when voting is finished then we move on. (don’t want two states to overlap in each thread)

Ah, okay, thanks! So when will the voting finish?

depends when the panelists have finished ranking the maps, we've just moved on to the second round. I'm hoping by Friday but *some* of the panelists are a tad slow to respond. by the way, I'll post the first round results for each state now

[cvparty]

First round - due to the large number of SC maps, each panelist was required to reject at least 5 of them. A map required at least two approving votes to pass. ASV-B, True Federalist-B, muon2-B, weatherboy-A and -B were eliminated. Here's the breakdown:

Sol
cvparty-A - N
cvparty-B - N
AustralianSwingVoter-A - Y
AustralianSwingVoter-B - N
Singletxguyforfun-A - Y
Singletxguyforfun-B - Y
MB - Y
weatherboy1102-A - N
weatherboy1102-B - N
True Federalist-A - Y
True Federalist-B - N
muon2-A - N
jimrtex-A - N
jimrtex-B - N
muon2-B - N

"I was a good bit harsher here, naying any map without a clear black-dominated district. This was my most important criterion. muon2-B was on the fence; with a BVAP 2 or 3 points higher I might have approved it."

me
cvparty-A - Y
cvparty-B - Y
AustralianSwingVoter-A - N
AustralianSwingVoter-B - Y
Singletxguyforfun-A - N
Singletxguyforfun-B - Y
MB - Y
weatherboy1102-A - N
weatherboy1102-B - Y
True Federalist-A - Y
True Federalist-B - N
muon2-A - Y
jimrtex-A - Y
jimrtex-B - Y
muon2-B - N

I believe I rejected the maps I did for splitting up metro areas weirdly, mainly Charleston. But feel free to ask about the rationale for my vote on a particular map.

Singletxguyforfun
cvparty-A N
cvparty-B Y
AustralianSwingVoter-A Y
AustralianSwingVoter-B N
Singletxguyforfun-A Y
Singletxguyforfun-B Y
MB N
weatherboy1102-A Y
weatherboy1102-B N
True Federalist-A Y
True Federalist-B N
muon2-A N
jimrtex-A N
jimrtex-B N
muon2-B N

no comment.

TimTurner
Y: cvparty-A
Y: cvparty-B
AustralianSwingVoter-A
AustralianSwingVoter-B
Y: Singletxguyforfun-A
Singletxguyforfun-B
Y: MB
weatherboy1102-A
weatherboy1102-B
Y: True Federalist-A
Y: True Federalist-B
Y: muon2-A*
Y: jimrtex-A
Y: jimrtex-B
Y: muon2-B

no comment.

[Lachi]

We still don't have the North Carolina results. When will those be posted?

[cvparty]

they were posted...