Fair redistricting: Texas

[jimrtex]

North Carolina has 16 planning regions. It used to have 18. There were separate regions for Winston-Salem and Greensboro. It also had a Pee-Dee Region, that apparently dissolved and the four counties scattered among four neighbors.



Collectively, the three big regions of Centralina (Charlotte), Piedmont Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem), and Triangle J (Raleigh, Durham) have a population equivalent to 7.212 districts. The five regions to the west have a population equivalent to 1.909 districts, and the eight regions to the east have a population equivalent to 3.879 districts. This suggests roughly a 2:7:4 division. None of the three central regions are close to an integer number of districts, and have sprawled outwards so it should be possible to combine fringe areas one way or the other.



The two westernmost regions have a population equivalent to 0.809 districts, and the western five equivalent to 1.909 districts. Moving Surry gets the western area to 2.009. Counties are then moved to the western area to reach approximately one district.

NC-1 (Appalachian, Asheville) 1.009
NC-2 (Western, Unifour) 1.000.

The two southeastern regions of Lumber River and Cape Fear have a population equivalent to 0.981 districts. The three northeastern regions of Upper Coastal Plain, Mid-East and Albermarle have a population equivalent to 1.047 representatives. Adjusting counties to get closer to 1.000, by dropping Beaufort and Hyde, and adding Greene, gets the Eastern Carolina region closer to a district which is done by adding Sampson.

Later I was having trouble assembling counties into meaningful districts. So I shifted New Hanover and Pender into the Eastern Carolina district, and added Cumberland to the southeast district. This has the added benefit of unifying the Fayetville UCC.

NC-11 (Southeast, Fayetteville) 1.005
NC-12 (East Coast, Wilmington, New Bern) 1.007
NC-13 (Albermarle, Rocky Mount) 1.004

This tends to increase the central regions to 8 districts as the greater Raleigh-Durham area will dominate three districts.

Dividing up the central area. An area based on Mecklenburg with a population equivalent to 2 districts was identified. Mecklenburg has to be chopped. My inclination would be to keep one district wholly in Mecklenburg, and bridge across between Gaston and Unon.

NC-3, NC-4 (Charlotte) 1.998

An area including northern suburbs of Charlotte and areas south of Winston-Salem was constructed.

NC-5 (Not your Father's I-85 District) 0.979

Two districts are created in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem and areas to the south. This will require a major split of Guilford and Greensboro.

NC-6 (Greensboro/Winston-Salem) 1.369
NC-7 (Greensboro, points south) 0.617

Collectively, 1.986.

The area around Raleigh-Durham collectively have a population of 3.010.

NC-8 (Durham, Chapel Hill) 1.062
NC-9 (Raleigh) 1.228
NC-10 (Raleigh suburbs, points east) 0.720.

Wake will be chopped. My inclination is to move Franklin in NC-10, and add a nibble of Wake to NC-8. NC-9 would be wholly in Wake and dominated by Raleigh. NC-10 would include the remnant of Wake, mostly in the south, but with an area in the northeast to link to Franklin.

So Mecklenburg, Wake, and Guilford, the three most populous counties would be chopped.

[jimrtex]

Do you have a map(s) showing the chops?

Not yet.

[jimrtex]

North Carolina has 16 planning regions. It used to have 18. There were separate regions for Winston-Salem and Greensboro. It also had a Pee-Dee Region, that apparently dissolved and the four counties scattered among four neighbors.



Collectively, the three big regions of Centralina (Charlotte), Piedmont Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem), and Triangle J (Raleigh, Durham) have a population equivalent to 7.212 districts. The five regions to the west have a population equivalent to 1.909 districts, and the eight regions to the east have a population equivalent to 3.879 districts. This suggests roughly a 2:7:4 division. None of the three central regions are close to an integer number of districts, and have sprawled outwards so it should be possible to combine fringe areas one way or the other.



The two westernmost regions have a population equivalent to 0.809 districts, and the western five equivalent to 1.909 districts. Moving Surry gets the western area to 2.009. Counties are then moved to the western area to reach approximately one district.

NC-1 (Appalachian, Asheville) 1.009
NC-2 (Western, Unifour) 1.000.

The two southeastern regions of Lumber River and Cape Fear have a population equivalent to 0.981 districts. The three northeastern regions of Upper Coastal Plain, Mid-East and Albermarle have a population equivalent to 1.047 representatives. Adjusting counties to get closer to 1.000, by dropping Beaufort and Hyde, and adding Greene, gets the Eastern Carolina region closer to a district which is done by adding Sampson.

Later I was having trouble assembling counties into meaningful districts. So I shifted New Hanover and Pender into the Eastern Carolina district, and added Cumberland to the southeast district. This has the added benefit of unifying the Fayetville UCC.

NC-11 (Southeast, Fayetteville) 1.005
NC-12 (East Coast, Wilmington, New Bern) 1.007
NC-13 (Albermarle, Rocky Mount) 1.004

This tends to increase the central regions to 8 districts as the greater Raleigh-Durham area will dominate three districts.

Dividing up the central area. An area based on Mecklenburg with a population equivalent to 2 districts was identified. Mecklenburg has to be chopped. My inclination would be to keep one district wholly in Mecklenburg, and bridge across between Gaston and Unon.

NC-3, NC-4 (Charlotte) 1.998

An area including northern suburbs of Charlotte and areas south of Winston-Salem was constructed.

NC-5 (Not your Father's I-85 District) 0.979

Two districts are created in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem and areas to the south. This will require a major split of Guilford and Greensboro.

NC-6 (Greensboro/Winston-Salem) 1.369
NC-7 (Greensboro, points south) 0.617

Collectively, 1.986.

The area around Raleigh-Durham collectively have a population of 3.010.

NC-8 (Durham, Chapel Hill) 1.062
NC-9 (Raleigh) 1.228
NC-10 (Raleigh suburbs, points east) 0.720.

Wake will be chopped. My inclination is to move Franklin in NC-10, and add a nibble of Wake to NC-8. NC-9 would be wholly in Wake and dominated by Raleigh. NC-10 would include the remnant of Wake, mostly in the south, but with an area in the northeast to link to Franklin.

So Mecklenburg, Wake, and Guilford, the three most populous counties would be chopped.

This is an updated map. This shifts Alamance into NC-7, and Caswell, Rockingham, and Stokes into NC-8. Franklin is shifted into NC-10. This is not depending on point contiguity, since NC-10 will take a substantial portion of Wake County along the eastern and southern borders. This is reasonably compact since it providing a partial donut around three sides of Raleigh. In addition NC-3 (Charlotte suburbs) is shown separate from NC-4 (Charlotte). Mecklenburg will be divided to connect the two parts of NC-3.

NC-1 (Appalachian, Asheville) 1.009
NC-2 (Western, Unifour) 1.000
NC-3 (Charlotte western/southern suburbs) 0.745
NC-4 (Charlotte) 1.254
NC-5 (Charlotte northern suburbs, Winston-Salem/Greensboro southern suburbs) 0.979
NC-6 (Greensboro/Winston-Salem) 1.144
NC-7 (Central, Greensboro, Raleigh fringes) 0.823
NC-8 (Northern, Durham/Chapel Hill) 0.998
NC-9 (Raleigh) 1.228
NC-10 (Raleigh suburbs and points east) 0.803
NC-11 (Southeast, Fayetteville) 1.005
NC-12 (Coast, Wilmington/New Bern etc.) 1.007
NC-13 (Albermarle, Rocky Mount) 1.004

Mecklenburg, Guilford, and Wake will be divided.

Mecklenburg will be 732,928 in NC-4. and 186,700 in NC-3 (this could conceivably be a partial donut following the I-485 loop)

Wake will be divided 733,172 in NC-9, 144,438 in NC-10, and 23,383 in NC-7. The portion in NC-7 will in the southwest bordering Chatham. The portion in NC-10 will be in the south, east, and west including the connection between Johnston and Franklin. NC-9 will be Raleigh-centric.

With optimal cuts, the standard deviation of deviations will be 0.69%.

UCCs:

Asheville UCC is 100% in NC-1, and forms 55% of the district.
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton UCC is 100% in NC-2, and forms 45% of the district.
Charlotte UCC is entitled to 2.458 districts.
   NC-4 includes 41% of UCC, and UCC is 100% of district.
   NC-3 includes 33% of UCC, and UCC is 81% of district.
   NC-5 includes 26% of UCC, and UCC is 66% of district.
Greensboro-High Point/Winston-Salem UCCs are entitled to 1.366 districts.
   NC-6 includes 73% of UCC's, and UCC's are 100% of district.
   NC-5 includes 16% of UCC's, and UCC's are 23% of district.
   NC-7 includes 11% of UCC's, and UCC's are 14% of district.
Durham-Chapel Hill UCC is 100% in NC-8, and forms 55% of district.
Raleigh UCC is entitled to 1.459 districts.
   NC-9 includes 69% of UCC, and UCC is 100% of district.
   NC-10 includes 29% of UCC, and UCC is 43% of district.
   NC-7 includes 2% of UCC, and UCC is 3% of district.
Fayetteville UCC is 100% in NC-11, and forms 50% of district.

8 smaller single-county UCC's are in a single district. The largest, Wilmington UCC forms 28% of its district.

These show rough divisions of the split counties. In general, I was trying to make the Charlotte and Raleigh seats compact, rather than necessarily making the surrounding seats compact. I was also trying to avoid picking off areas that were largely black (avoid cracking black population). In Guilford, I ended up placing High Point in NC-7. You can bring in more white areas in the southwestern part of Greensboro, but then High Point stands out as prong down from the north, and looks more like race sorting.



Mecklenburg - Detail



Wake - Detail



Guilford, Forsyth - Detail



NC-1 (Appalachian, Asheville) +0.92%; R+7.92; A89, H4, B3, AI1, O1, As 1
NC-2 (Western, Unifour) -0.02%; R+20.52; A86, B8, H4, As1, O1
NC-3 (Charlotte suburban) -0.08%; R +14.55; A79, B11, H6, As2, O1
NC-4 (Charlotte) -0.08%; D +16.43; A49, B34, H11, As 4, O1
NC-5 (Charlotte/Winston-Salem/Greensboro suburban) -2.1%; R+18.83; A80, B11, H6, As 1, O1
NC-6 (Greensboro/Winston-Salem) -0.04%; D +6.63; A60, B28, H7, As3, O1
NC-7 (Central) -0.04%; R +9.78; A72, B18, H8, As 1, O1, AI 1
NC-8 (Northern, Durham/Chapel Hill) A60, B B27, H7, As3, O1, AI1
NC-9 (Raleigh) -0.04%; D+9.62; A63, B21, H8, As6, O2
NC-10 (Raleigh suburban) -0.04%; R+9.92; A67, B21, H10, As1, O1, AI1
NC-11 (Southeastern, Fayetteville) +0.54%; D +0.1; A53, B29, AI9, H6, O2, As2
NC-12 (Coastal, Wilmington/Winston-Salem) +0.75%; R +19.76; A74, B17, H5, As1, O1
NC-13 (Albermarle, Rocky Mount) +0.42%; D +2.01; A56, B37, H4, O1, As 1, AI1

[jimrtex]

Can anyone submit a map?

Yes. But be sure to hurry. It is past the deadline, so they might decide not to evaluate it. It is probably a good exercise in any case to get used to other states.

[jimrtex]

These show rough divisions of the split counties. In general, I was trying to make the Charlotte and Raleigh seats compact, rather than necessarily making the surrounding seats compact. I was also trying to avoid picking off areas that were largely black (avoid cracking black population). In Guilford, I ended up placing High Point in NC-7. You can bring in more white areas in the southwestern part of Greensboro, but then High Point stands out as prong down from the north, and looks more like race sorting.



Mecklenburg - Detail



Wake - Detail



Guilford, Forsyth - Detail



NC-1 (Appalachian, Asheville) +0.92%; R+7.92; A89, H4, B3, AI1, O1, As 1
NC-2 (Western, Unifour) -0.02%; R+20.52; A86, B8, H4, As1, O1
NC-3 (Charlotte suburban) -0.08%; R +14.55; A79, B11, H6, As2, O1
NC-4 (Charlotte) -0.08%; D +16.43; A49, B34, H11, As 4, O1
NC-5 (Charlotte/Winston-Salem/Greensboro suburban) -2.1%; R+18.83; A80, B11, H6, As 1, O1
NC-6 (Greensboro/Winston-Salem) -0.04%; D +6.63; A60, B28, H7, As3, O1
NC-7 (Central) -0.04%; R +9.78; A72, B18, H8, As 1, O1, AI 1
NC-8 (Northern, Durham/Chapel Hill) -0.21%; D+12.69; A60, B B27, H7, As3, O1, AI1
NC-9 (Raleigh) -0.04%; D+9.62; A63, B21, H8, As6, O2
NC-10 (Raleigh suburban) -0.04%; R+9.92; A67, B21, H10, As1, O1, AI1
NC-11 (Southeastern, Fayetteville) +0.54%; D +0.1; A53, B29, AI9, H6, O2, As2
NC-12 (Coastal, Wilmington/Winston-Salem) +0.75%; R +19.76; A74, B17, H5, As1, O1
NC-13 (Albermarle, Rocky Mount) +0.42%; D +2.01; A56, B37, H4, O1, As 1, AI1

The largest deviation is the +2.1% for NC-5. We can bring it into Guilford and adjust the other divisions Guilford and Wake.

Wake detail



Forsyth, Guilford detail



Guilford: NC-5 11,818; NC-6 379,548; NC-7 97,040.

Wake: NC-7 29,291; NC-9 730,218; NC-10 141,484.

NC-5 (Charlotte/Winston-Salem/Greensboro suburban) -0.45%; R+18.61
NC-6 (Greensboro/Winston-Salem) -0.45%; D +6.71
NC-7 (Central) -0.45%; R +9.62
NC-9 (Raleigh) -0.45%; D+9.23
NC-10 (Raleigh suburban) -0.45%; R+9.67

Standard deviation decreases from 0.69% to 0.48%

[jimrtex]

Here's my map. I think it's the only one drawn that both preserves 4 VRA districts, and also has a 7R-6D split in PVI. (red for Democrat, blue for Republican)

Drawing to a target is unconstitutional. NC-4 is particularly suspect.

[jimrtex]

This versions reduces the standard deviation to 0.08%, by linking in NC-1, NC-2, NC-11, and NC-13 by 4 small chops. NC-3 and NC-4 (Charlotte), NC-8 (Durham, Chapel Hill), and NC-12 (Coastal, Wilmington/New Bern) remain isolated whole county areas.



Note: Hyde is moved to NC-13.

McDowell: NC-1 38,549; NC-2 6,447.
Surry: NC-2 67,716; NC-5 5,956 (Wilkes is also possible)
Mecklenburg: NC-3 186,700; NC-4 732,928.
Guilford: NC-5 9,480; NC-6 383,166; NC-7 95,760.
Wake: NC-7 34,189; NC-8 733,836; NC-9 132,968.
Nash: NC-12 8,543; NC-13 87,928.
Cumberland: NC-10 3,591; NC-11 315,840.

NC-1 (Appalachian, Asheville) +0.05%, R+7.71
NC-2 (Western, Unifour) +0.05%, R+20.60
NC-3 (Charlotte suburbs) -0.08%, R+14.55
NC-4 (Charlotte) -0.08%, D+16.43
NC-5 (Charlotte/Winston-Salem/Greensboro suburbs) +0.05%, R+18.66
NC-6 (Greensboro/Winston-Salem) +0.05%, D+6.63
NC-7 (South Central) +0.05%, R+9.42
NC-8 (North, Durham/Chapel Hill) -0.21%, D+12.69
NC-9 (Raleigh) +0.05%, D+9.11
NC-10 (Raleigh suburbs) +0.05%. R+9.89
NC-11 (Southeast, Fayetteville) +0.05%, D+0.25
NC-12 (Coast, Wilmington/New Bern) -0.04%, R+10.80
NC-13 (Albermarle, Rocky Mount) +0.05%, D+2.08

[jimrtex]

There was a tie between cvparty and muon2 in Condorcet, so IRV was used to tiebreak. cvparty's map wins for North Carolina!

How so?

[jimrtex]

Drawing to a target is unconstitutional. NC-4 is particularly suspect.

What do you mean "a target?" You mean drawing to create maj-min districts intentionally? I don't think there's any other map on here that has at least 3.

You can not assign persons to voting districts based on race.

It appears that you had a target (i.e. we need more black people in this district). You did not establish the three prongs of the Gingles test,  Your NC-4 is particularly problematic in the way you linked Durham and eastern Raleigh.

NC-9 you would have to show that minorities vote cohesively.

Also Republican members of the panel would likely vote against your map because of NC-7.

[jimrtex]

Drawing to a target is unconstitutional. NC-4 is particularly suspect.

What do you mean "a target?" You mean drawing to create maj-min districts intentionally? I don't think there's any other map on here that has at least 3.

You can not assign persons to voting districts based on race.

It appears that you had a target (i.e. we need more black people in this district). You did not establish the three prongs of the Gingles test,  Your NC-4 is particularly problematic in the way you linked Durham and eastern Raleigh.

NC-9 you would have to show that minorities vote cohesively.

Also Republican members of the panel would likely vote against your map because of NC-7.

Isn't assigning people to a district based on race required to create VRA-mandated maj-min districts? Regardless, fair point. I think NC-4 failed Gingles, but otherwise the others come across as fair to me.

See Cooper v Harris

[jimrtex]

Mecklenburg - Detail

The idea of following I-485 around makes sense if it starts around I-85 where it crosses the Catawba river from Gaston county. Connecting them across Lake Wylie without a bridge, seems akin to jumping across the Albemarle sound to connect Tyrrell to a district with Perquimans and Chowan county without including Washington county.

A disadvantage of using DRA, and not having time nor inclination to calculate PVI etc. for districts based on census data. Have you used the .csv option in DRA?

[jimrtex]

Better?



The north precinct line for 200 is not on I-85, but rather US 29-US-74, that also crosses the river. But I went ahead and included 224 which is mostly unincorporated. 230, 19, 87, and 88 cross I-485. If possible I would trim them on I-485, which would expand the neck somewhat.

The area along the Union line includs all of Mathews and Mint Hill in NC-3. I included 91 and 119 west of Mathews for population equality, and I already have cut Charlotte.

[jimrtex]

I also redid the Guilford and Wake maps.



This places all of High Point and Jamestown in NC-7. Previously the northern part of High Point was omitted. If an attempt were to keep Greensboro and High Point together with Winston-Salem would require NC-7 to wrap around to the northern part of the county.



NC-7 includes Holly Springs. NC-9 includes Apex and Cary (and Raleigh and High Point). NC-10 includes Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Wendell, and Zebulon. The NC-10 portion now is in a single contiguous strip.



Right click for a larger map.

Updated partisanship is in red.

NC-1 (Appalachian, Asheville) +0.05%, R+7.71
NC-2 (Western, Unifour) +0.05%, R+20.60
NC-3 (Charlotte suburbs) -0.08%, R+14.55 R+13.81
NC-4 (Charlotte) -0.08%, D+16.43 D+15.41
NC-5 (Charlotte/Winston-Salem/Greensboro suburbs) +0.05%, R+18.66
NC-6 (Greensboro/Winston-Salem) +0.05%, D+6.63 D+5.98
NC-7 (South Central) +0.05%, R+9.42 R+9.03
NC-8 (North, Durham/Chapel Hill) -0.21%, D+12.69
NC-9 (Raleigh) +0.05%, D+9.11 D+9.27
NC-10 (Raleigh suburbs) +0.05%. R+9.89 R+9.74
NC-11 (Southeast, Fayetteville) +0.05%, D+0.25
NC-12 (Coast, Wilmington/New Bern) -0.04%, R+10.80
NC-13 (Albermarle, Rocky Mount) +0.05%, D+2.08

[jimrtex]

South Carolina has 10 RCOG's.



Central Midlands minus Fairfield and Newberry plus Calhoun has a population of 1.002 and keeps the Columbia UCC whole.

Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester is coincident with the Charleston UCC and has a population of 1.006.

Waccamaw and Pee Dee minus Chesterfield has a population of 1.004.

The rest of the regions don't fit together particularly well, so I went directly to drawing districts.




The rest of the districts were fitted in. Greenville, Pickens and Oconee are equivalent to 0.975 districts, but this would require putting Spartanburg and Anderson in a very ugly district. This version cuts across the northern part of the county to link Spartanburg with Pickens and Oconee. It takes 27% of Greenville. The portion of Greenville plus Pickens in NC-1 is 32% of the Greenville UCC.



NC-1 includes Greer which sprawls across the Spartanburg-Greenville line, as well as Taylors CDP. NC-2 includes the near northern suburbs of Wade Hampton CDP, Sans Couci CDP, and Berea CDP as well as the city of Greenville proper and the southern part of the county. Keeping clear of Greenville explains the diagonal slope of the boundary.


SC-1 (Appalachian, Spartanburg) -0.65% R+21.24, A78, B14, H5, As2, O1.
SC-2 (Upcountry, Greenville) -0.92% R+13.98, A69, B22, H6, O1, As1.
SC-3 (Catawba-Santee-Lynches, Rock Hill) -0.29% R+5.90, A62, B31, H4, O1, As1.
SC-4 (Midlands, Columbia) +0.20% D+0.18 A58, B33, H5, As2, O2.
SC-5 (Pee Dee, Florence, Myrtle Beach) +0.41%, R+7.31 A62, B32, H4, O1, As1, AI 1
SC-6 (Ashley-Cooper&Atlantic, Charleston) +0.58%, R+3.81 A63, B27, H5, O2, As2.
SC-7 (Savannah, Aiken, Orangeburg, Hilton Head) +0.66%, R+4.42, A56, B35, H7, O1, As1.

Standard Deviation (0.58%)

One split county.

[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 Newberry and Union counties, and that may represent a more modern sensibility as Union is drawn toward Charlotte, and Newberry 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.

[jimrtex]

This provides more equal population (Standard Deviation 0.06%)



The major change is placing Newberry and McCormick in SC-7, and most of Greenwood in SC-2, making both more compact.

It would be possible to use this division of Greenwood, to permit a whole-county district of SC-1 of Greenville, Pickens, and Oconee. SC-2 would then be Cherokee, Spartanburg, Laurens, Greenwood (part), Abbeville, and Anderson. There is tradeoff between division of the larger county, vs. a major division of a smaller county. The city of Greenwood is in SC-2. I suspect that if people in Greenwood were car shopping or seeking entertainment they would head north.

There are also minor tweaks to Lexington (1401 persons, 1 precinct); Darlington (2068 persons 1 precinct) amd Dorchester (4341 persons, 3 precincts), representing a minimal 7810 victims of population equalization.

SC-1 Appalachian  -0.06%, R+21.22
SC-2 Upcountry -0.04%, R+14.05
SC-3 Catawba-Santee-Lynches 0.02%, R+5.96
SC-4 Midlands -0.01%, D+0.31
SC-5 Pee Dee 0.10%, R+7.25
SC-6 Ashley, Cooper & Atlantic -0.08%, R+3.81
SC-7 Savannah 0.07%, R+4.59

[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.

[jimrtex]

This an an alternative that keeps Greenville whole. SC-1 takes a nibble out of the corner of Anderson, which is Greenville suburbs. SC-7 takes part of Greenwood south of the city of Greenwood. In total about 30K persons are chopped.



Anderson



Greenwood



SC-1 (Appalachian, Greenville) -0.09%, R+18.77 A76, B14, H7, As2, O1.
SC-2 (Upcountry, Spartanburg, Anderson) -0.35% R+16.41, A71, B21, H5, O1, As1.
SC-3 (Catawba-Santee-Lynches, Rock Hill) -0.29% R+5.90, A62, B31, H4, O1, As1.
SC-4 (Midlands, Columbia) +0.20%, D+0.18 A58, B33, H5, As2, O2.
SC-5 (Pee Dee, Florence, Myrtle Beach) +0.41% R+7.30 A62, B32, H4, O1, As1, AI1.
SC-6 (Ashley-Cooper&Atlantic, Charleston) +0.58%, R+3.80, A63, B27, H5, O2, As 2.
SC-7 (Savannah, Aiken, Orangeburg, Hilton Head) -0.46%, R+4.48, A56, B35, H7, O1, As1.

Standard deviation 0.37%.


Shifting 2068 persions, 1 precinct, from Darlington; 1401 persons, 1 precinct, from Lexington; 3368 persons, 3 precincts from Dorchester, and 2256 persons, one precinct from Greenwood reduces the standard deviation to 0.07%.

In total, 34,531 persons would be victimized.

[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.

[jimrtex]

Two Black Districts.



Four White Districts

[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

[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?

[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?

[jimrtex]

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.

I think these are the ten finalists.

cvparty A



cvparty B



AustralianSwingVoter A



Singletxguyforfun A



Singletxguyforfun B



MB



True Federalist A



muon2 A



jimrtex A



jimrtex B