Dave's Redistricting App

[Smash255]

Smash,

Have you clicked the "test data" box before you select New York from the drop down menu?

Ahh I was hitting the test data box after I selected New York, not before.  Working now, thanks.

[Verily]

Also, the only way to get both new population data and the electoral data for NY is to load Maryland first, select both, then switch to New York. A pain.

[Bo]

Can anyone create two black-majority districts in Virginia?

[Verily]

Can anyone create two black-majority districts in Virginia?

Definitely not possible. Creating one already requires severe gerrymandering.

[Хahar 🤔]

The green district (where I live) is fascinating.

[Bo]

Can anyone create two black-majority districts in Virginia?

Definitely not possible. Creating one already requires severe gerrymandering.

Actually I tried it and was successful. Basically what you do is you take the black-majority precincts (and ones with a very large black minority) in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake.  That gets you one black-majority district. Then you take the black majority precincts in Richmond and Henrico County, and precincts with a very large black minroity in Chesterfield, Nottoway, Dinwiddle, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Halifax, and Charlotte Countries and add the city of Danville. Also, you should stretch this district to Lynchburg or even Roanoke (even though just Lynchburg is fine) and you should get a second black-majority district.

[muon2]

The green district (where I live) is fascinating.

So far, that district in San Jose and adjacent areas and the one in NYC are the only two Asian-majority districts I've found. If that were the CA map in 2012, who do you think would win the district?

[Verily]

Can anyone create two black-majority districts in Virginia?

Definitely not possible. Creating one already requires severe gerrymandering.

Actually I tried it and was successful. Basically what you do is you take the black-majority precincts (and ones with a very large black minority) in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake.  That gets you one black-majority district. Then you take the black majority precincts in Richmond and Henrico County, and precincts with a very large black minroity in Chesterfield, Nottoway, Dinwiddle, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Halifax, and Charlotte Countries and add the city of Danville. Also, you should stretch this district to Lynchburg or even Roanoke (even though just Lynchburg is fine) and you should get a second black-majority district.

Plurality, or majority? I have no doubt that you could get two 45% black districts that are 43% white. But 50% black seems highly unlikely.

[Bo]

Can anyone create two black-majority districts in Virginia?

Definitely not possible. Creating one already requires severe gerrymandering.

Actually I tried it and was successful. Basically what you do is you take the black-majority precincts (and ones with a very large black minority) in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake.  That gets you one black-majority district. Then you take the black majority precincts in Richmond and Henrico County, and precincts with a very large black minroity in Chesterfield, Nottoway, Dinwiddle, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Halifax, and Charlotte Countries and add the city of Danville. Also, you should stretch this district to Lynchburg or even Roanoke (even though just Lynchburg is fine) and you should get a second black-majority district.

Plurality, or majority? I have no doubt that you could get two 45% black districts that are 43% white. But 50% black seems highly unlikely.

I said majority, as in 50+% African American. I experimented with Dave's Redistricting App and managed to get 2 black majority districts. If you follow my directions you should get two as well.

[Хahar 🤔]

The green district (where I live) is fascinating.

So far, that district in San Jose and adjacent areas and the one in NYC are the only two Asian-majority districts I've found. If that were the CA map in 2012, who do you think would win the district?

Democratic victories all across the board. Mike Honda would certainly have no trouble holding the district.

[Bo]

The green district (where I live) is fascinating.

So far, that district in San Jose and adjacent areas and the one in NYC are the only two Asian-majority districts I've found. If that were the CA map in 2012, who do you think would win the district?

Democratic victories all across the board. Mike Honda would certainly have no trouble holding the district.

[muon2]

Can anyone create two black-majority districts in Virginia?

Definitely not possible. Creating one already requires severe gerrymandering.

Actually I tried it and was successful. Basically what you do is you take the black-majority precincts (and ones with a very large black minority) in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake.  That gets you one black-majority district. Then you take the black majority precincts in Richmond and Henrico County, and precincts with a very large black minroity in Chesterfield, Nottoway, Dinwiddle, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Halifax, and Charlotte Countries and add the city of Danville. Also, you should stretch this district to Lynchburg or even Roanoke (even though just Lynchburg is fine) and you should get a second black-majority district.

Plurality, or majority? I have no doubt that you could get two 45% black districts that are 43% white. But 50% black seems highly unlikely.

I said majority, as in 50+% African American. I experimented with Dave's Redistricting App and managed to get 2 black majority districts. If you follow my directions you should get two as well.

I played around with it last night, and I also got two districts by separating Richmond from Norfolk/Newport News. CD3 (purple) is just over 50% and CD4 (red) is 53%. CD1 (blue) becomes a long snaky district from Prince William Co almost down to NC.

[Bo]

Can anyone create two black-majority districts in Virginia?

Definitely not possible. Creating one already requires severe gerrymandering.

Actually I tried it and was successful. Basically what you do is you take the black-majority precincts (and ones with a very large black minority) in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake.  That gets you one black-majority district. Then you take the black majority precincts in Richmond and Henrico County, and precincts with a very large black minroity in Chesterfield, Nottoway, Dinwiddle, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Halifax, and Charlotte Countries and add the city of Danville. Also, you should stretch this district to Lynchburg or even Roanoke (even though just Lynchburg is fine) and you should get a second black-majority district.

Plurality, or majority? I have no doubt that you could get two 45% black districts that are 43% white. But 50% black seems highly unlikely.

I said majority, as in 50+% African American. I experimented with Dave's Redistricting App and managed to get 2 black majority districts. If you follow my directions you should get two as well.

I played around with it last night, and I also got two districts by separating Richmond from Norfolk/Newport News. CD3 (purple) is just over 50% and CD4 (red) is 53%. CD1 (blue) becomes a long snaky district from Prince William Co almost down to NC.

That's a good map. Randy Forbes would probably choose to run in VA-02 in this scenario. However, you can make it neater by removing the top part (counties) of VA-04 (the red district) and adding areas of Henry County and Lynchburg that have large black populations (or just areas of Henry County). This would make your map somewhat neater.

[muon2]

Actually I tried it and was successful. Basically what you do is you take the black-majority precincts (and ones with a very large black minority) in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake.  That gets you one black-majority district. Then you take the black majority precincts in Richmond and Henrico County, and precincts with a very large black minroity in Chesterfield, Nottoway, Dinwiddle, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Halifax, and Charlotte Countries and add the city of Danville. Also, you should stretch this district to Lynchburg or even Roanoke (even though just Lynchburg is fine) and you should get a second black-majority district.

Plurality, or majority? I have no doubt that you could get two 45% black districts that are 43% white. But 50% black seems highly unlikely.

I said majority, as in 50+% African American. I experimented with Dave's Redistricting App and managed to get 2 black majority districts. If you follow my directions you should get two as well.

I played around with it last night, and I also got two districts by separating Richmond from Norfolk/Newport News. CD3 (purple) is just over 50% and CD4 (red) is 53%. CD1 (blue) becomes a long snaky district from Prince William Co almost down to NC.

That's a good map. Randy Forbes would probably choose to run in VA-02 in this scenario. However, you can make it neater by removing the top part (counties) of VA-04 (the red district) and adding areas of Henry County and Lynchburg that have large black populations (or just areas of Henry County). This would make your map somewhat neater.

Thanks. Having VA-04 go into either Lynchburg or Henry did not significantly change the Black percentages. Lynchburg only has two significantly Black precincts, so using it in VA-04 would require a split of the city. Henry is a little better, but it extends the line along the NC border more than I'd like. Cumberland was the better choice for me.

[Bo]

Actually I tried it and was successful. Basically what you do is you take the black-majority precincts (and ones with a very large black minority) in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake.  That gets you one black-majority district. Then you take the black majority precincts in Richmond and Henrico County, and precincts with a very large black minroity in Chesterfield, Nottoway, Dinwiddle, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Halifax, and Charlotte Countries and add the city of Danville. Also, you should stretch this district to Lynchburg or even Roanoke (even though just Lynchburg is fine) and you should get a second black-majority district.

Plurality, or majority? I have no doubt that you could get two 45% black districts that are 43% white. But 50% black seems highly unlikely.

I said majority, as in 50+% African American. I experimented with Dave's Redistricting App and managed to get 2 black majority districts. If you follow my directions you should get two as well.

I played around with it last night, and I also got two districts by separating Richmond from Norfolk/Newport News. CD3 (purple) is just over 50% and CD4 (red) is 53%. CD1 (blue) becomes a long snaky district from Prince William Co almost down to NC.

That's a good map. Randy Forbes would probably choose to run in VA-02 in this scenario. However, you can make it neater by removing the top part (counties) of VA-04 (the red district) and adding areas of Henry County and Lynchburg that have large black populations (or just areas of Henry County). This would make your map somewhat neater.

Thanks. Having VA-04 go into either Lynchburg or Henry did not significantly change the Black percentages. Lynchburg only has two significantly Black precincts, so using it in VA-04 would require a split of the city. Henry is a little better, but it extends the line along the NC border more than I'd like. Cumberland was the better choice for me.

In regards to Lynchburg and Henry, I am suggesting splitting the city/country so that the black areas go to the fourth district and that the white areas go to other congressional districts. I know that splitting countries/cities is not always desirable, but I think it is very effecient in these sorts of cases. There are many areas in Henry County with 50% or more black population, while there are none (I believe) in Cumberland County.

[muon2]

That's a good map. Randy Forbes would probably choose to run in VA-02 in this scenario. However, you can make it neater by removing the top part (counties) of VA-04 (the red district) and adding areas of Henry County and Lynchburg that have large black populations (or just areas of Henry County). This would make your map somewhat neater.

Thanks. Having VA-04 go into either Lynchburg or Henry did not significantly change the Black percentages. Lynchburg only has two significantly Black precincts, so using it in VA-04 would require a split of the city. Henry is a little better, but it extends the line along the NC border more than I'd like. Cumberland was the better choice for me.

In regards to Lynchburg and Henry, I am suggesting splitting the city/country so that the black areas go to the fourth district and that the white areas go to other congressional districts. I know that splitting countries/cities is not always desirable, but I think it is very effecient in these sorts of cases. There are many areas in Henry County with 50% or more black population, while there are none (I believe) in Cumberland County.

With the 2008 data the App has no majority black precincts in Henry, but there is one in Cumberland. Henry offers a link to Martinsville which has 2 heavily black precincts. To get to Martinsville requires a link across western Pittsylvania which has a relatively low black percentage. The net result is no better than going north as I did in my map.

Going to Lynchburg is fractionally better, but I think that the marginal improvement does not justify the extra splits.

[Bo]

Can someone create a minority-majority district in MA?

[Brittain33]

Can someone create a minority-majority district in MA?

Tom Finneran proposed one in 2001. It involved connecting the minority-majority parts of MA-8 and Milton to Lynn. With 9 districts, it's probably impossible.

[Bo]

Can someone create a minority-majority district in MA?

Tom Finneran proposed one in 2001. It involved connecting the minority-majority parts of MA-8 and Milton to Lynn. With 9 districts, it's probably impossible.

Isn't the current 8th minority-majority (even using year 2000 numbers)?

[muon2]

Can someone create a minority-majority district in MA?

Tom Finneran proposed one in 2001. It involved connecting the minority-majority parts of MA-8 and Milton to Lynn. With 9 districts, it's probably impossible.

Isn't the current 8th minority-majority (even using year 2000 numbers)?

The current ACS estimates for MA have a black population of just under 400 K. A majority-black district would need at least 360-370 K in one district in 2010, so it isn't possible given the spread in the state.

The Hispanic population isn't much better with over 500 K spread across the state, and 360-370 need to be within one district.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

I just made a majority-minority (not majority-black) district connecting most of Boston with parts of Quincy, Chelsea, Cambridge, and Somerville. It's 49% white, 21% black, 18% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 2% other. This is with new population estimates and nine districts.

[muon2]

I just made a majority-minority (not majority-black) district connecting most of Boston with parts of Quincy, Chelsea, Cambridge, and Somerville. It's 49% white, 21% black, 18% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 2% other. This is with new population estimates and nine districts.

That makes sense, but as a coalition district it wouldn't count for the VRA. It also probably would not pass since MA has such a strong tradition of keeping towns intact as much as possible.

[Bo]

I just made a majority-minority (not majority-black) district connecting most of Boston with parts of Quincy, Chelsea, Cambridge, and Somerville. It's 49% white, 21% black, 18% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 2% other. This is with new population estimates and nine districts.

You mind posting your map here? I'd like to see what you came up with.

[enlightened despot]

 or http://i49.tinypic.com/qyu33r.jpg

Total Population: 720, 584 (-1412 from ideal w/ new population estimates)
White Population: 334, 050 (46%)
Black Population: 161, 746 (22%)
Native Population: 1, 920 (0%)
Asian Population: 68, 915 (10%)
Hispanic Population: 140, 107 (19%)
Other Population: 13, 846 (2%)

Combines all of Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Chelsea with parts Boston.

Edit: This district is similar to Mike Capuano's 8th district, but does anyone know if I also included Stephen Lynch's residence?

[Brittain33]

Edit: This district is similar to Mike Capuano's 8th district, but does anyone know if I also included Stephen Lynch's residence?

Almost surely not, Stephen Lynch lives in South Boston which demographically would never be included in this district.