US with Canadian Ridings

[Gass3268]

Here is my take on Vermont!

Yours looks much nicer. Its very symetrical.

If only Florida worked for Daves app, I would love to draw some South FL ridings.

I did really like the work that you put into map in terms letting us now the riding data and finding a logical MP. What MP's do you think represent the ridings in my map? Also were do you have Patrick Leahy?

[Gass3268]

Rhode Island


Providence


Blue: Providence South—College Hill—West End
Green: Providence North—Elmhurst—Riverside
Purple: Pawtucket—Central Falls—North Providence
Yellow: Cranston—Johnston
Red: Woonsocket—Cumberland Hill—Valley Falls
Teal Green: Greenville—Pascoag—Kent West
Grey: Warwick—East Greenwich
Light Purple: Westerly—Wakefield—North Kingston
Light Blue: Bristol—Newport

Again let me know if I did anything wrong

[muon2]

How large do the second and third named communities need to to be part of the riding name? Is it based on the size of the primary community or just in relation to the whole district?

[Хahar 🤔]

I think there should be shorter names in general. Most Canadian ridings don't have dashes in their names.

[Hatman 🍁]

How large do the second and third named communities need to to be part of the riding name? Is it based on the size of the primary community or just in relation to the whole district?

District names should be as representative as the whole riding as possible. If if it gets hard to decide on a name, a geographic feature will do.  But there are no rules at all in Canada for how big community sizes have to be.

I think there should be shorter names in general. Most Canadian ridings don't have dashes in their names.

This is true. It would be nice to have some geographic features in riding names as well. Some of the RI name suggestions are a bit awkward. Especially "Providence South—College Hill—West End"   

[ilikeverin]

Minnesota.  I'll try to cut down on the number of dashes, though it gets hard in the Twin Cities.  I'd imagine the people naming the ridings of Minnesota would kind of have a thing for lakes...



Tomato: Grand Rapids—Red Lake—Lake of the Woods
Medium Violet Red: Iron Range (/Arrowhead)
Turquoise: Duluth
Thistle: Moorhead—Thief River Falls
Royal Blue: Bemidji—Detroit Lakes
Khaki: Brainerd—Leech Lake
Magenta: Fergus Falls—Morris
Lime Green: Alexandria—Milaca
Orange Red: Hinckley
Lawn Green: Willmar
Light Coral: St. Cloud North
Dark Sea Green: St. Cloud South—Elk River



Light Steel Blue: Marshall—Worthington—Montevideo
Firebrick: New Ulm
Moccasin: St. Peter—Hutchinson
Medium Aquamarine: Mankato—Blue Earth
Dodger Blue: Owatonna
Orange: Austin—Albert Lea—La Crescent
Spring Green: Rochester
Dark Orchid: Winona
Pink: Hastings—Farmington—Zumbrota



Plum: Buffalo
Indigo: Chanhassen—Norwood-Young America—Delano
Sienna: Shakopee—Savage—Belle Plaine
Aquamarine: Inver Grove Heights—Rosemount—Lakeville
Yellow Green: Eagan—South St. Paul
Pale Violet Red: Woodbury—Cottage Grove—Lakeland
Gray: Oakdale—Forest Lake—Scandia
Yellow: Chisago City—Lino Lake—Rush City
Dark Slate Blue: Anoka
Lime: Coon Rapids—Blaine
Cyan: Brooklyn Park—Champlin
Slate Blue: Maple Grove—Rogers—Minnetrista
Green: Lake Minnetonka
Teal: Wayzata—New Hope (people in Plymouth would be totally used to this)
Gold: St. Louis Park—Brooklyn Center
Purple: Minneapolis Harriet(/South)—Edina—Richfield
Blue: Bloomington—Eden Prairie
Deep Pink: Minneapolis Nokomis(/Uptown)
Red: Minneapolis West
Dark Gray: Minneapolis River(/East)—St. Anthony
Dark Orange: Fridley—Shoreview—Circle Pines
Cornflower: St. Paul Como—Roseville—New Brighton
Chartreuse: Maplewood—White Bear Lake
Dark Salmon: St. Paul West
Olive: St. Paul East

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Here is my take on Vermont!

Yours looks much nicer. Its very symetrical.

If only Florida worked for Daves app, I would love to draw some South FL ridings.

I did really like the work that you put into map in terms letting us now the riding data and finding a logical MP. What MP's do you think represent the ridings in my map? Also were do you have Patrick Leahy?

Wow, I really can't believe I forgot Patrick Leahy! He certainly would be a member of the Commons. I will try and get some MPs for your ridings.

[muon2]

How large do the second and third named communities need to to be part of the riding name? Is it based on the size of the primary community or just in relation to the whole district?

District names should be as representative as the whole riding as possible. If if it gets hard to decide on a name, a geographic feature will do.  But there are no rules at all in Canada for how big community sizes have to be.

I think there should be shorter names in general. Most Canadian ridings don't have dashes in their names.

This is true. It would be nice to have some geographic features in riding names as well. Some of the RI name suggestions are a bit awkward. Especially "Providence South—College Hill—West End"   

One of the things lacking is the use of "Center" to describe the riding that includes the downtown. Another is the use of towns/townships as opposed to small villages that don't have much political meaning. I put my revised list for RI at the end.

Rhode Island


Providence


Blue: Providence South—College Hill—West End
Green: Providence North—Elmhurst—Riverside
Purple: Pawtucket—Central Falls—North Providence
Yellow: Cranston—Johnston
Red: Woonsocket—Cumberland Hill—Valley Falls
Teal Green: Greenville—Pascoag—Kent West
Grey: Warwick—East Greenwich
Light Purple: Westerly—Wakefield—North Kingston
Light Blue: Bristol—Newport

Again let me know if I did anything wrong

Providence Center (though personally I would have used Smith St and Main St as the dividing line in Providence, making this district 50.1% Hisp.)
Providence North—East Providence
Pawtucket (it dominates the other two towns, and the name is clear)
Woonsocket (you could also call it Blackstone Valley, but these are the only names of any significance)
Cranston—Johnston
Coventry—Smithfield
Warwick (it makes up 2/3 of the riding by itself)
Kingstown—Westerly (recognizing the origin of the two Kingstowns from one, though Kingston would also be better than Wakefield)
Newport—Bristol

[KingSweden]

Sweet thread. I wonder what Washington's would look like. Probably six ridings for Seattle, one for each of the main suburbs, and then big ones east of the mountains.

Wish I had as cool of an app as you guys

[Smid]

Kingstown—Westerly (recognizing the origin of the two Kingstowns from one, though Kingston would also be better than Wakefield)

I was rather hoping for an Ontario-style "Kingston and the Islands"...

[7,052,770]

Do the ridings have to be contiguous?  I'm working on Mississippi right now.

[muon2]

Sweet thread. I wonder what Washington's would look like. Probably six ridings for Seattle, one for each of the main suburbs, and then big ones east of the mountains.

Wish I had as cool of an app as you guys

Daves Redistricting App is freely available.

[Hatman 🍁]

Do the ridings have to be contiguous?  I'm working on Mississippi right now.

Within reason of course. Presently there is one riding in Canada that is not, but that is because the regional boundaries aren't:  http://www.elections.ca/scripts/pss/PopUpWindows.asp?ED=24039

[7,052,770]

My first attempt has only 5 majority black districts out of 26.  (Not intentional -- just how the map came out.)  I'm guessing that one would get rejected.  Back to the drawing board...

[7,052,770]

Well, attempt #2 gave 6 majority black districts, and to get there I had to make a couple ugly and non-contiguous districts.  Pretend there's a highway connecting them all together if necessary:



Majority black districts in bold. White majority Obama district is italicized. Numbered starting in top left, going left to right, as best I can:

Num   Name
1   Southhaven - Olive Branch (Pale Blue)
2   Hernando - Holly Springs (Lime)
3   Corinth (Pink)
4   Clarksdale (Red)
5   Oxford (Royal Blue)
6   Tupelo (Grey)
7   Grenada - Houston - Aberdeen (Cyan)
8   Greenville (Steel Grey)
9   Kosciusko - Louisville (Steel Green)
10   Golden Triangle (Maroon)
11   Canton - Yazoo - North Vicksburg (Forest Green)
12   (contrived non-contiguous black district East) (Black)
13   North Jackson - Clinton - Madison (Blue)
14   West Jackson (Yellow)
15   (contrived white district) (Orange)
16   (contrived non-contiguous black district West) (Magenta)
17   Pearl - Brandon (Aqua)
18   Collins - Magee (Green)
19   Meridian (White)
20   Natchez - McComb (Steel Pink)
21   Columbia - Tylertown - Picayune (Gold)
22   Hattiesburg (Purple)
23   Waynesboro - Lucedale (Light Blue)
24   Bay St. Louis (Royal Purple)
25   Gulfport - Biloxi (Greypink)
26   Pascagoula - Ocean Springs (Dark Grey)


All six black districts should comfortably elect a Democrat, no matter what.  Republicans could contest Golden Triangle every time, but a Democrat would usually win.

Republicans would normally win the other 20 seats, although Gene Taylor would probably win the Bay St. Louis riding.

[Gass3268]

Montana


Billings


Purple: Kalispell—Glacier (Safe Rep)
Green: Helena—Flathead Lake (Lean Dem, especially for a local Montana Dem)
Blue: Missoula (Safe Dem)
Red: Butte—Dear Lodge (Lean Dem, especially for a local Montana Dem)
Yellow: Bozeman—Beaverhead (Toss Up)
Teal Green: Great Falls—Blackfeet (Lean Dem, especially for a local Montana Dem)
Grey: Livingston—Crow (Safe Rep)
Light Purple: Billings (Lean Dem, especially for a local Montana Dem)
Light Blue: Hi-Line (Safe Rep)

[traininthedistance]

Well, attempt #2 gave 6 majority black districts, and to get there I had to make a couple ugly and non-contiguous districts.  Pretend there's a highway connecting them all together if necessary:



Majority black districts in bold. White majority Obama district is italicized. Numbered starting in top left, going left to right, as best I can:

Num   Name
1   Southhaven - Olive Branch (Pale Blue)
2   Hernando - Holly Springs (Lime)
3   Corinth (Pink)
4   Clarksdale (Red)
5   Oxford (Royal Blue)
6   Tupelo (Grey)
7   Grenada - Houston - Aberdeen (Cyan)
8   Greenville (Steel Grey)
9   Kosciusko - Louisville (Steel Green)
10   Golden Triangle (Maroon)
11   Canton - Yazoo - North Vicksburg (Forest Green)
12   (contrived non-contiguous black district East) (Black)
13   North Jackson - Clinton - Madison (Blue)
14   West Jackson (Yellow)
15   (contrived white district) (Orange)
16   (contrived non-contiguous black district West) (Magenta)
17   Pearl - Brandon (Aqua)
18   Collins - Magee (Green)
19   Meridian (White)
20   Natchez - McComb (Steel Pink)
21   Columbia - Tylertown - Picayune (Gold)
22   Hattiesburg (Purple)
23   Waynesboro - Lucedale (Light Blue)
24   Bay St. Louis (Royal Purple)
25   Gulfport - Biloxi (Greypink)
26   Pascagoula - Ocean Springs (Dark Grey)


All six black districts should comfortably elect a Democrat, no matter what.  Republicans could contest Golden Triangle every time, but a Democrat would usually win.

Republicans would normally win the other 20 seats, although Gene Taylor would probably win the Bay St. Louis riding.

I can get to nine majority-black VAP (even better than total population) districts without particularly even trying.



They are:
4- 54.2%
9- 62.4%
10- 57.3%
11- 50.4% (Okay, I did have to try a tiny bit for this one.  But really not that much.)
12- 56.1%
15- 50.8%
16- 54.1%
17- 56.7%
18- 53.4%

The only even remotely problematic district here is 15; I can't imagine too many people on either side in MS would be happy about a black-majority district that includes all of Ridgeland and is thus only 55% Obama.  But you can do it and the lines look good at a distance!

And, of course, the Golden Triangle district remains Dem-leaning as well.

[7,052,770]

How in the world is 16 majority black??  That appears to be the white parts of Jackson and a piece of mostly white Rankin County.
For that matter, I'm surprised 15 is majority black too.

I can promise you that putting ALL of Hinds and ALL of Madison counties into majority black districts would not fly.

[traininthedistance]

How in the world is 16 majority black??  That appears to be the white parts of Jackson and a piece of mostly white Rankin County.
For that matter, I'm surprised 15 is majority black too.

I can promise you that putting ALL of Hinds and ALL of Madison counties into majority black districts would not fly.

Here's a closeup:



And here's a closeup with all precincts removed from 15 and 16 that are less than 30 percent black:



15-minus-the-white-parts is 68K people, 46K under the ideal; 16-minus-the-white-people is 83K, 31K under the ideal.  The white precincts of those two districts, together, are considerably smaller than a full district.

There are a lot of blacks packed in the Jackson area, and there really aren't that many white precincts in Jackson, at all.  It's easier than you think to unpack them.

[7,052,770]

Oh I realize the Jackson whites are packed into a few northeastern districts, but those are the richest, most powerful people in the entire state.  They will NOT be put into a majority black district. Period. Ever.  Same goes for Madison.

[traininthedistance]

Oh I realize the Jackson whites are packed into a few northeastern districts, but those are the richest, most powerful people in the entire state.  They will NOT be put into a majority black district. Period. Ever.  Same goes for Madison.

Yeah, I'm aware that there would be a hue and cry.  You can rejigger my 14-15-16 to give them a white district, of course, and you still have eight black-majority districts, even with a repacked Jackson.  Probably pretty easy to then send a tendril or two south from Jackson to re-establish a ninth black district, at the expense of compactness.

[traininthedistance]

Just for the lulz:



Fourteen black-majority districts, and a fifteenth Obama district in Gulfport-Biloxi-Passacougla!

Whee.

[muon2]

Oh I realize the Jackson whites are packed into a few northeastern districts, but those are the richest, most powerful people in the entire state.  They will NOT be put into a majority black district. Period. Ever.  Same goes for Madison.

But what would protect them if ridings were drawn by a national commission? If congressional redistricting reform were really to work it might require just that.

[jimrtex]

Oh I realize the Jackson whites are packed into a few northeastern districts, but those are the richest, most powerful people in the entire state.  They will NOT be put into a majority black district. Period. Ever.  Same goes for Madison.

But what would protect them if ridings were drawn by a national commission? If congressional redistricting reform were really to work it might require just that.

Canada uses individual commissions in each province.

[Njall]

My attempt at Washington State:



1: Blaine—Lynden—Ferndale; 44.2% Obama
2: Bellingham; 71.5% Obama
3: Oak Harbour—The Islands; 55.9% Obama
4: Mount Vernon—Anacortes; 53.8% Obama
5: Sultan—Monroe—Granite Falls; 51.5% Obama
28: Enumclaw—Snoqualmie—Duvall; 52.7% Obama
29: Chelan—Kittias; 43.8% Obama
30: Okanagan—Ferry—Stevens—Pend Orielle; 41.0% Obama
31: Douglas—Grant; 36.5% Obama
32: Grant—Adams—Lincoln—Cheney; 40.5% Obama
36: Liberty Lake—Deer Park—Whitman; 42.4% Obama
37: Walla Walla—Franklin—Columbia—Asotin; 38.4% Obama
40: Prosser—Klickitat—Sunnyside; 44.8% Obama
42: Toppenish—Lewis—Skamania; 41.2% Obama
46: Battle Ground—Ridgefield—Woodland; 44.1% Obama
47: Longview—Napavine—Wahkiakum; 52.6% Obama
48: Aberdeen—Centralia—Pacific; 52.3% Obama
49: Clallam—Jefferson—Ocean Shores; 55.9% Obama
52: Mason—Manchester—Key Peninsula; 51.3% Obama
55: Prairie Ridge—Fort Lewis—Yelm; 48.0% Obama




6: Arlington—Marysville—Lake Stevens; 54.0% Obama
7: Everett; 62.7% Obama
8: Mukilteo—Picnic Point-North Lynnwood; 62.8% Obama
9: Lynnwood—Edmonds—Mount Lake Terrace; 65.4% Obama
10: Snohomish—Mill Creek; 55.8% Obama
11: Bothell—Woodinville; 60.8% Obama
12: Kenmore—Shoreline—Lake Forest Park; 71.0% Obama




13: Seattle—Northgate; 85.1% Obama
14: Seattle—Lake City—University; 83.9% Obama
15: Seattle—Fort Lawton; 83.8% Obama
16: Seattle—Ranier Valley; 89.4% Obama
17: Seattle Center—Beacon Hill; 80.2% Obama
18: West Seattle—Burien; 76.4% Obama
19: Tukwila—SeaTac—Vashon; 69.3% Obama
22: Covington—Kent; 59.8% Obama
23: Renton—Mercer Island; 66.6% Obama
24: Bellevue; 64.0% Obama
25: Kirkland—Redmond; 64.9% Obama
26: Sammamish—Issaquah; 60.5% Obama
27: Newcastle—Maple Valley; 56.9% Obama
50: Bangor—Poulsbo—Bainbridge Island; 59.3% Obama
51: Bremerton—Port Orchard; 52.6% Obama




20: Federal Way; 59.4% Obama
21: Auburn—Bonney Lake; 53.3% Obama
56: Graham—Orting—Frederickson; 48.7% Obama
57: Puyallup—South Hill; 50.8% Obama
58: Parkland—Waller; 56.1% Obama
59: Lakewood—Gig Harbor; 52.7% Obama
60: Tacoma South—University Place; 62.4% Obama
61: Tacoma North; 69.0% Obama




53: Olympia—Lacey—Tumwater; 66.4% Obama
54: Grand Mound—Rochester; 56.4% Obama




33: Spokane North; 52.7% Obama
34: Spokane South; 59.9% Obama
35: Spokane Valley; 44.1% Obama




38: Richland—Pasco; 39.7% Obama
39: Kennewick—West Richland; 34.6% Obama
41: Yakima; 44.9% Obama




43: Vancouver; 60.4% Obama
44: Vancouver East—Camas; 51.8% Obama
45: Salmon Creek—Hazel Dell—Five Corners; 53.3% Obama