Avoiding Gerrymandering with Algorithmic Districting

Student Author Information

Trigg Anderson, University of LynchburgFollow

Location

Room 232, Schewel Hall

Access Type

Campus Access Only

Entry Number

94

Start Date

4-5-2023 3:00 PM

End Date

4-5-2023 3:15 PM

College

Lynchburg College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Computer Science

Keywords

gerrymandering, districting

Abstract

Improper districting -- gerrymandering -- can become an obstacle to representation in the democratic process. I worked on a program that automatically produces potential districts based on publicly available census data. The goal of this project is to create an alternative to human districting that operates on nonpartisan parameters like creating geographically contiguous districts. My work on this project has included Python and C++ and I have fixed and updated existing code as well as written and implemented my own algorithms.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Dr. Will Briggs

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