{"id":12677,"date":"2017-11-24T15:33:19","date_gmt":"2017-11-24T20:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mdcthereporter.com\/?p=12677"},"modified":"2020-09-25T11:37:58","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T15:37:58","slug":"supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"The Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cases of partisan gerrymandering \u2014 the practice of redrawing legislative and congressional districts to sway elections in favor of an incumbent party \u2014 can be traced back to the early 1700s, when counties surrounding Philadelphia refused to revise jurisdiction lines that would account for its growing population. Today, the United States is still grappling with the political repercussions of partisan gerrymanders and the problem is only getting worse.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is partially due to the lack of oversight by the judicial branch, which is notoriously sheepish toward cases involving gerrymanders. In Vieth v. Jubelirer<\/span><\/a> in 2004, the Supreme Court concluded that political gerrymandering was not justiciable because \u201cdiscernible and manageable standards\u201d had not been developed to identify extreme cases of partisanship. But Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose vote determined the Court\u2019s result, challenged the lower courts to find a workable test. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, statisticians are helping the lower courts devise that. Around this time last year, in Whitford v. Gill, a three-judge panel in Western Wisconsin\u2019s District Court outlined a method for evaluating claims of partisan gerrymandering. This method, known as the efficiency gap, proved that the state\u2019s republican legislature used redistricting to lock the democrats out of power. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The panel ordered Wisconsin to redraw its district maps by November 2017. But the state appealed the panel\u2019s decision to the Supreme Court, which held oral arguments in October. A ruling is expected in June 2018 before the Court\u2019s summer recess begins.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Supreme Court must make a choice: should it proclaim an equal protection rule to combat partisan gerrymandering, or rid itself of this political hotbed? Furthermore, if gerrymandering is deemed unconstitutional, how will the states generate district lines that are impartial, transparent and, most importantly, fair?<\/span><\/p>\n

As statistical software and demographic accuracy becomes more precise, and with the 2018 midterm elections and 2020 census looming, the result of Whitford v. Gill could easily determine American politics for the next century.<\/span><\/p>\n

With so much at stake, the real question we should be asking ourselves is why are politicians still mapping districts in the first place? Surely, we\u2019re capable of developing nonpartisan algorithms to draw district lines after each census\u2014 this is the 21 century, after all. The problem is that algorithms cannot decide the criteria for creating districts on their own. Humans must feed algorithms parameters, making them susceptible to political ambition.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the Supreme Court can agree upon quantifiable criteria for what constitutes fair districts, apolitical algorithms may become the automated solution to partisan gerrymandering this country so desperately needs. Ultimately, the ruling of Whitford v. Gill will show us whether the Court Justices have the intelligence to define such criteria and apply it effectively through Artificial Intelligence<\/span><\/a> or other nonbiased remedies.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cases of partisan gerrymandering \u2014 the practice of redrawing legislative and congressional districts to sway elections in favor of an incumbent party \u2014 can be traced back to the early 1700s, when counties surrounding Philadelphia refused to revise jurisdiction lines that would account for its growing population. Today, the United States is still grappling with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":465,"featured_media":9011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1971,2179],"class_list":{"0":"post-12677","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-forum","8":"tag-supreme-court","9":"tag-gerrymandering"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hannah Loop writes about partisan gerrymandering, where legislative and congressional district lines are redrawn in favor of an incumbent party.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hannah Loop writes about partisan gerrymandering, where legislative and congressional district lines are redrawn in favor of an incumbent party.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-24T20:33:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-25T15:37:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/forum_header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hannah Loop\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hannah Loop\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hannah Loop\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d33c993b995ae9ca6a5cb730793e7998\"},\"headline\":\"The Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-24T20:33:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-25T15:37:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":457,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/forum_header.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Supreme Court\",\"gerrymandering\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Forum\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/forum_header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-24T20:33:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-25T15:37:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Hannah Loop writes about partisan gerrymandering, where legislative and congressional district lines are redrawn in favor of an incumbent party.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/forum_header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/forum_header.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"Forum header.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MDC The Reporter\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/R_reporter_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/R_reporter_logo.png\",\"width\":315,\"height\":309,\"caption\":\"MDC The Reporter\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d33c993b995ae9ca6a5cb730793e7998\",\"name\":\"Hannah Loop\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png\",\"caption\":\"Hannah Loop\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/author\\\/hannah-loop\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?","description":"Hannah Loop writes about partisan gerrymandering, where legislative and congressional district lines are redrawn in favor of an incumbent party.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?","og_description":"Hannah Loop writes about partisan gerrymandering, where legislative and congressional district lines are redrawn in favor of an incumbent party.","og_url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/","og_site_name":"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College","article_published_time":"2017-11-24T20:33:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-25T15:37:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/forum_header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Hannah Loop","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hannah Loop","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/"},"author":{"name":"Hannah Loop","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/#\/schema\/person\/d33c993b995ae9ca6a5cb730793e7998"},"headline":"The Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?","datePublished":"2017-11-24T20:33:19+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-25T15:37:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/"},"wordCount":457,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/forum_header.jpg","keywords":["Supreme Court","gerrymandering"],"articleSection":["Forum"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/","name":"The Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/forum_header.jpg","datePublished":"2017-11-24T20:33:19+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-25T15:37:58+00:00","description":"Hannah Loop writes about partisan gerrymandering, where legislative and congressional district lines are redrawn in favor of an incumbent party.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/forum_header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/forum_header.jpg","width":1500,"height":1000,"caption":"Forum header."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/supreme-court-gerrymandering-ai-solution\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Supreme Court And Gerrymandering\u2014Is AI The Solution?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/","name":"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/#organization","name":"MDC The Reporter","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/R_reporter_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/R_reporter_logo.png","width":315,"height":309,"caption":"MDC The Reporter"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/#\/schema\/person\/d33c993b995ae9ca6a5cb730793e7998","name":"Hannah Loop","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png","caption":"Hannah Loop"},"url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/author\/hannah-loop\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/465"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}