Hacktivism Intent 1 – Tate Yoder & Tyler Rollins
Visualizing Extreme Possibilities of Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering is the act of manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency or district, to favor a certain political party – though complicated in theory and understanding and how it’s is done, we propose that visualizing the extremes of gerrymandering will create a country-wide conversation to address this unfair tactic in today’s polarized political environment.
Description: We are doing this for the people. Ultimately we are not proposing an “end all be all” solution to gerrymandering, but rather creating a visualization to attract more people into this debate and raise awareness that there needs to be a better way to either create boundaries for our districts or create an entirely new system altogether that is more fair and just.
Gerrymandering has created the ability for there to be dramatically different end results even if every single person voted the same way. This is best illustrated with the photos above, particularly with photo 2. In the first instance, we see that 60% of the population voted with Blue, and 40% of the population voted for Red. However, in the second instance, if we just look at the end result, we see that there are a total of 5 “district” votes for the Blue. This gives us the impression that there is no debate on who won, clearly, all the votes went to blue and therefore it is unanimous. This is wrong because still, 40% of the people voted for Red. The last example is where this method is the most unfair. Even though we see that 60% of the people voted for Blue, the end results show that Red received 3 votes, and Blue received 2. This, in theory, actually flips the percentages and makes it seem like 60% of the votes went to Red, and 40% went to blue. This is wrong, and this is being done in our political system right now.
In conclusion, as you can see with the images above, this is not our original idea. We are merely taking this example of showing the extremes for a state like Pennsylvania, and propose to do this for the entire country to show how dramatically different the end results are if gerrymandering is taken to its extreme.
Our method can be described in three different New Media strategy categories:
UPSTAGE THE MAN
By sharing this information throughout the country, we are able to educate citizens on how representatives are molding state districts in order to steal elections with the lowest votes possible. By exploiting this strategy we are able to give the proper information needed in order for the people to start a coalition and take back their voting voice.
AGGREGATE, AUTOMATE, AND VISUALIZE DATA
The most effective way to share this data is by visualization. Because gerrymandering is done by breaking up districts on a map, it is important to show the effects of this process to the people whose votes are oppressed.
DISTRIBUTE AND CONNECT INFORMATION
There is no one spot on the web that compiles this information for people to easily access it in order to create their individual views on the subject. By compiling this information we are able to distribute it throughout the web through various outlets such as a website and/or social media. Allowing people easy access is the first step to gaining attention on a subject. By connecting people with this information, we are able to curate new ideas and new networks for actual action to take place.
Budget, Materials, and Time: If this can be done with one state, this can be done with all 50 states. We would need the voting information for an election (the most recent election would have the most emotional impact on the viewers) and to hire someone to dream up the most extreme examples of how gerrymandering can affect the outcome of the election.
Time: Roughly four months of consistent and intense work. We estimate that this kind of information is hard to find, as well as hard to read and create extreme examples of redistricting. However, we are positive that if it can be done with one state that it must be done for all so we can finally see the ridiculous nature of this practice.
Budget: The general overview of the budget contains paying a source for the information, paying for a website domain to present the visual, as well as hiring a designer and promoter to create and distribute the end result.
Photos courtesy of:
http://reclaimtheamericandream.org/brief-gerrymander/
http://www.fairvote.org/new_poll_everybody_hates_gerrymandering
http://i1.wp.com/www.leeandlow.com/images/gerrymandering-lg.jpg
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/17/upshot/pennsylvania-gerrymandering.html
One thought on “Hacktivism Intent 1 – Tate Yoder & Tyler Rollins”
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This is a cool idea–do you actually have the data to DO it? As an approach, you might begin with one state–like Maine. Or New England. You make good use of NMD strategies, and you have a clear and relevant political goal. My main concern is how you will be able to get the data and visualize it. Ids this something you could crowdsource? i.e. could you start the process and then invite others to add their data–whthere maps, or charts or text data that you could verify and then visualize and distribute? This is ambitious, but you might be able to give it a test run in an Approach with a single state?