Gerrymandering the States

[12th Doctor]

If you could redraw the map of the United States today and change all the states bounderies, would you?  How would you do it.  I'll provide some answers when I get back from class.

ex. attaching Michigan's upper penisula to Wisconsin.

[bullmoose88]

Can we create new states? or just play around with current boundaries

[12th Doctor]

You can create totally new states and there don't even have to be 50 of them, but no more than 70 and no less than 30.  

[Fritz]

 Just off the top of my head, split California into two, and combine the Dakotas into one.

[12th Doctor]

I can't wait to see some of the maps.  

[ilikeverin]

Oh boy

I created some a few years ago just for 'fun', and I just created one now

The 3 I made before removed some, and the one today has 50 states

The one I made today:



And the ones I made before (they're all big ones, so these are thumbnails ):

[PBrunsel]

I assume you all know this, but Gerrymandering comes from James Madison's vice president Elbridge Gerry.

While Governor of Massachusettes he redistricted his state so it would always benefit the Democratic-Republicans. One of these districts resembled a salamander, and it was nicknamed the "Gerrymander." Thus the term "Gerrymandering."

[Nym90]

If you could redraw the map of the United States today and change all the states bounderies, would you?  How would you do it.  I'll provide some answers when I get back from class.

ex. attaching Michigan's upper penisula to Wisconsin.

Making the UP part of Wisconsin would make more sense geographically. Politically, it would have given Wisconsin to Bush in 2000, so I suppose the GOP would go for it.

[KEmperor]

Oh boy

I created some a few years ago just for 'fun', and I just created one now

The 3 I made before removed some, and the one today has 50 states

The one I made today:

Did you make Long Island part of Connecticut?!?!?!

[ATFFL]

Did you make Long Island part of Connecticut?!?!?!

Long Island statehood now!

[KEmperor]

Did you make Long Island part of Connecticut?!?!?!

Long Island statehood now!

LOL, are you including Kings County and Queens county?

[ATFFL]

Did you make Long Island part of Connecticut?!?!?!

Long Island statehood now!

LOL, are you including Kings County and Queens county?

Of course.

[KEmperor]

That would probably give us about 15 electoral votes.

[ilikeverin]

Oh boy

I created some a few years ago just for 'fun', and I just created one now

The 3 I made before removed some, and the one today has 50 states

The one I made today:

Did you make Long Island part of Connecticut?!?!?!

[bullmoose88]

If I do a map...is there anyone who can host it for me?

[© tweed]

a good gOP gerrymander would be to lump cities together.  NY and Philly, Detroit and Chicago, etc.

[WMS]

Either merge NM with Arizona or with Texas...heretical as that may be to my fellow New Mexicans, we don't work well as a state.

[muon2]

Is the goal to create a more favorable set for one party? That's the usual goal.

Some posters seem to look at correcting states that are too big or too small. Perhaps a formula based system would encourage that. For instance no state could have less than 1% of the national population without losing a Senate seat. Or, no state can have more than 10% of the total number of House seats.

Another redrawing would create more culturally similar areas. How about a state that sat between the Cascades and the Pacific extending from Santa Barbara north to Canada?

Without ground rules its hard to know which way to attack the problem.

[??????????]

Not to creative but oh well.

[12th Doctor]

Well, this doesn't really have to be for partisan gain.  The angle I am looking more at is "what areas of the country really belong together and should be combined and which areas don't have anything in common and thus should be seperated.

1) First this I would do is take Western PA (west of the Susquahana) and combine it with Northern West Virginia and then ad on Eastern Ohio.  

2) What remains of West Virgina woudl then be split between Virginia and Kentucky.  

3) Take Northern Ohio (along the coast to about 30 miles in) including Cleveland and combine it with South East Michigan Including Detriot.  

4) Then take what remains of Ohio (the Cinncinatti and Columbus areas) and combine them with Southern Indiana.

5) Create a semi circle that startes in along the northern boarder of Illinois (about 60 miles inland from Lake Michigan) and go in a semi-circle (south) until you hit the northern boarder of Indiana.  The circle should include Chicago and all it's suburbs (but not Rockford) and South Bend.  Make this a state.

6) I would split California into three seperate states roughly in thirds.  The Northern section would be combined with Oregon.  

7)The coastal areas (except San Diego) would be combined into one state (this line would follow roughly US-101 and extend inland about 100 miles and would include Los Angeles and San Francisco).  

The third state would consist of the Central Valley, the Desert and San Diego and would include Sacramento and Bakersfield.

9) Idaho would be dismantled.  The northern section would be granted to Washington and the Southern part to Utah.

10) What remained of Michigan (except the Northern Penisula) would be combined with what remained of Northern Indiana.

11) The UP of Michgan would go to Wisconsin.

I'm not finished, yet, but this is just to give an idea.

[12th Doctor]

Let's say that, for the purpose of the excercise, the goal is to create states that make more geographic and cultural sense than the ones we have now.

[JohnFKennedy]

Not to creative but oh well.

Is the joining of WV and VA merely a sign of protest to WV's existence?

[minionofmidas]

Okay, off the top off my head:
1 Reunite East and West Massachusetts! (49 states)
2 Unite New Hampshire and Vermont (48)
3 Long Island Statehood Now! (49)
4 THe remainder of New York City, as well as Westchester and Rockland Counties, is fused with North Jersey as New York State (50)
5 Upstate New York renamed, say, Iroquoia (still 50)
6 Not sure what I'll do with South Jersey yet...
7 When Michigan State was created, it did not include the UP, which was only added when Wisconsin Territory was organized (I think. The exact timeline may be wrong, but it was something like that.) Upper Michigan might easily have become a state of its own, in which case it would probably have more inhabitants, better infrastructure etc now. I'll hereby make it one, to be named Chippewa. (51)
8 Nebraska expanded to the boundaries of Douglas's NE Territory (49)
9 Ah yes, of course: South Jersey merged with Delaware and the Eastern Shore (48)
10 DC merged with Maryland (still 48)
11 Virginia reunited (46 - this includes Kentucky)
12 Carolinas united (44 - this includes Tennessee)
13 East and West Florida split (45). West Florida returned to former size (Coastal strips of Alabama and Mississippi and "Florida Parishes" of Louisiana added)
14 Eastern Oklahoma remains Indian Territory (still 45)
15 Texas split in five, based on Dallas, Houston, Austin/San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley and the Panhandle (49)
16 Wyoming fused with Montana (48)
17 Idaho is a fantasy word and will be renamed. (still 48)
18 Taylor's greater New Mexico of NM, AZ, CO and UT. (45)
19 Like Idaho, Washington will be renamed. (still 45)
20 California split in two. (46)
21 Alaska never purchased. (45)
22 Hawaii never annexed. (44)

[minionofmidas]

Okay, off the top off my head:
1 Reunite East and West Massachusetts! (49 states)
2 Unite New Hampshire and Vermont (48)
3 Long Island Statehood Now! (49)
4 THe remainder of New York City, as well as Westchester and Rockland Counties, is fused with North Jersey as New York State (50)
5 Upstate New York renamed, say, Iroquoia (still 50)
6 Not sure what I'll do with South Jersey yet...
7 When Michigan State was created, it did not include the UP, which was only added when Wisconsin Territory was organized (I think. The exact timeline may be wrong, but it was something like that.) Upper Michigan might easily have become a state of its own, in which case it would probably have more inhabitants, better infrastructure etc now. I'll hereby make it one, to be named Chippewa. (51)
8 Nebraska expanded to the boundaries of Douglas's NE Territory (49)
9 Ah yes, of course: South Jersey merged with Delaware and the Eastern Shore (48)
10 DC merged with Maryland (still 48)
11 Virginia reunited (46 - this includes Kentucky)
12 Carolinas united (44 - this includes Tennessee)
13 East and West Florida split (45). West Florida returned to former size (Coastal strips of Alabama and Mississippi and "Florida Parishes" of Louisiana added)
14 Eastern Oklahoma remains Indian Territory (still 45)
15 Texas split in five, based on Dallas, Houston, Austin/San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley and the Panhandle (49)
16 Wyoming fused with Montana (48)
17 Idaho is a fantasy word and will be renamed. (still 48)
18 Taylor's greater New Mexico of NM, AZ, CO and UT. (45)
19 Like Idaho, Washington will be renamed. (still 45)
20 California split in two. (46)
21 Alaska never purchased. (45)
22 Hawaii never annexed. (44)

Obviously, the point was not a partisan one...It's more an alternative version of what might have happened that is at points purposefully unrealistic but is not supposed to beimpossible.

[??????????]

Can we get a map?