Draw the Lines PA is attempting to teach Pennsylvanians how to the fix the state’s gerrymandered electoral map by letting them draw the lines themselves using Azavea’s DistrictBuilder software, writes Roberto Torres for Technical.ly Philly.
The civic education and engagement effort is sponsored by the nonprofit Committee of Seventy. To encourage participation, the group will host biannual mapping competitions through 2021, with cash prizes of up to $4,500.
According to the Draw the Lines PA project director Chris Satullo, the goal is to demystify the process of redistricting and gerrymandering. This, he hopes, will provide students and voters with the confidence and knowledge to attempt to create their own maps.
“Ultimately, the goal is to demonstrate that this process shouldn’t be done in a dark room but should be open to the voters,” said Satullo.
The Supreme Court created a new electoral map earlier this year, but the issue was not fixed.
Since election maps get redrawn after every census, the process will happen again after the 2020 federal census.
The hope is that, by then, partisanship can be removed from the process.
Read more about Draw the Lines PA from Technical.ly Philly here.
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