The rise of do-it-yourself redistricting

Dave Bradlee built a free online mapping tool called “Dave’s Redistricting App.”  Users choose a state, decide how many districts to slice it into, and then click away, coloring the map into lots of tiny pieces.

A Stateline report details the history of the redistricting process and the resistance to more technological forms that allow the public to become involved in the process.

One reason states are rejecting plans to use technology to engage the public is lack of money. Mark Stratton, who works on redistricting for Indiana’s Legislative Services Agency, said vendors told him online redistricting would cost between $125,000 and $150,000. The problem is Indiana’s entire redistricting budget — for hardware, software and staff — is only $250,000.

Another concern is voters who are intimidated by sophisticated redistricting applications.

Michael McDonald and Micah Altman are currently developing the Public Mapping Project,  an online tool that is expected to be more powerful than Bradlee’s app.  It will contain sophisticated features like a statistical test of the compactness of the districts a user has created.