{"id":17074,"date":"2024-01-20T14:13:49","date_gmt":"2024-01-20T19:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/?page_id=17074"},"modified":"2026-07-02T13:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T17:49:33","slug":"the-rise-of-the-hal-mander-is-gerrymandering-by-algorithm-the-next-frontier-of-partisan-gerrymandering","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/in-print\/volume-111\/volume-111-issue-4-april-2023\/the-rise-of-the-hal-mander-is-gerrymandering-by-algorithm-the-next-frontier-of-partisan-gerrymandering\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rise of the Hal-mander: Is Gerrymandering by Algorithm the Next Frontier of Partisan Gerrymandering?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p2\"><em><span id=\"page1R_mcid64\" class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">We cannot automate partisan gerrymandering out of existence, but we might <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">perpetuate it through automation. Every ten years, around the United States, state <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">legislatures and independent commissions draw new districts for congressional <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">and state legislative elections, and many of these mapmakers rely on complex <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">software and computer algorithms. <span class=\"s2\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_1' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_1'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>1<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_1' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #1<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_17074_1' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_1' tabindex='-1'>1<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #1 content: <\/span>Sam Levine,<em> \u2018From Dark Art to Dark Science\u2019: The Evolution of Digital Gerrymandering,<\/em>G UARDIAN (Aug. 22, 2021, 4:00 AM), https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2021\/aug\/22\/gerrymandering-us-electoral-districts-congress [https:\/\/perma.cc\/37FL-VDVN].\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t <\/span><\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid65\" class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid111\" class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">A redistricting consultant can use an<\/span><\/span><span id=\"zz\" class=\"markedContent\"><span id=\"page1R_mcid114\" class=\"markedContent\"> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">algo<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">rithm<\/span><\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid112\" class=\"markedContent\"> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">to generate thousands of gerrymandered maps that comply with state and <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">federal redistricting requirements.<\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid69\" class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"> <span class=\"s2\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_2' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_2'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>2<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_2' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #2<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_17074_2' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_2' tabindex='-1'>2<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #2 content: <\/span><em>Id.<\/em>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t <\/span><\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid106\" class=\"markedContent\"> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Reformers also craft redistricting proposals <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">through algorithms.<\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid73\" class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"> <span class=\"s2\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_3' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_3'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>3<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_3' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #3<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_17074_3' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_3' tabindex='-1'>3<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #3 content: <\/span><em>See infra<\/em> Section I.C.2.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t <\/span><\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid115\" class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Like the consultant who generates thousands of<\/span><\/span><span id=\"undefzzined\" class=\"markedContent\"><span id=\"page1R_mcid118\" class=\"markedContent\"> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">gerryman<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">dered<\/span><\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid116\" class=\"markedContent\"> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">maps, a reformer can generate thousands of nongerrymandered<\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid77\" class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"> <span class=\"s2\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_4' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_4'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>4<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_4' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #4<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_17074_4' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_4' tabindex='-1'>4<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #4 content: <\/span>It is important to note that these maps are not necessarily objective because algorithms require choices, which have political consequences.<em> See infra<\/em> Section IV.A.1.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t <\/span><\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid108\" class=\"markedContent\"> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">maps that <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">comply with state and federal redistricting requirements.<\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid81\" class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"> <span class=\"s2\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_5' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_5'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>5<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_5' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #5<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_17074_5' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_5' tabindex='-1'>5<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #5 content: <\/span><em>See infra<\/em> Section I.C.2.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t <\/span><\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid119\" class=\"markedContent\"> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Whether to<\/span><\/span><span id=\"unzzzdefined\" class=\"markedContent\"><span id=\"page1R_mcid123\" class=\"markedContent\"> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">gerryman<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">der<\/span><\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid120\" class=\"markedContent\"> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">more efficiently under the cover of a facially neutral algorithm or to prevent <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">gerrymandering by handing control to a facially neutral algorithm, states might <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">consider\u00a0 an automated redistricting process.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><em><span id=\"page1R_mcid84\" class=\"markedContent\"><br role=\"presentation\" \/><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">One example can be found in North Carolina. North Carolina decided its state <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">legislative districts in 2019 with a nearly automated redistricting process.<\/span><\/span><span id=\"page1R_mcid85\" class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"> <span class=\"s2\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_6' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_6'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>6<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_6' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #6<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_17074_6' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_6' tabindex='-1'>6<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #6 content: <\/span><em>See<\/em> Common Cause v. Lewis, No. 18 CVS 014001, 2019 WL 13198027, at *3 (N.C. Super. Ct. Oct. 28, 2019); Miles Parks, <em>A Surprise Vote, Thrown Phone and Partisan \u2018Mistrust\u2019 Roil N.C. as Maps Are Redrawn, <\/em>NPR (Sept. 16, 2019, 5:19 AM),https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/09\/16\/760177030\/a-surprise-vote-thrown-phone-and-partisan-mistrust-roil-n-c-as-maps-are-redrawn [https:\/\/perma.cc\/7WW9-AZNG].\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t <\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"markedContent\"><span id=\"undzzzzzefined\" class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">After a <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">state court ruled that North Carolina\u2019s state senate and house districts were <span id=\"page4R_mcid1\" class=\"markedContent\">unconstitutional because of partisan bias, the Republican majority had to redraw the districts.<span id=\"page1R_mcid85A\" class=\"markedContent\"><span class=\"s2\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_7' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_7'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>7<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_17074_7' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #7<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_17074_7' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_17074_7' tabindex='-1'>7<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #7 content: <\/span>Parks, <em>supra<\/em> note 6; Common Cause v. Lewis, No. 18 CVS 014001, 2019 WL 4569584, at *135\u201337 (N.C. Super. Ct. Sept. 3, 2019).\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Continue Reading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/06\/GT-GGLJ230016.pdf\"><em>The Rise of the Hal-mander: Is Gerrymandering by Algorithm the Next Frontier of Partisan Gerrymandering?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-pdfemb-pdf-embedder-viewer\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/06\/GT-GGLJ230016.pdf\" class=\"pdfemb-viewer\" style=\"\" data-width=\"max\" data-height=\"max\" data-toolbar=\"bottom\" data-toolbar-fixed=\"off\">GT-GGLJ230016<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We cannot automate partisan gerrymandering out of existence, but we might perpetuate it through automation. Every ten years, around the United States, state legislatures and independent commissions draw new districts for congressional and state legislative elections, and many of these mapmakers rely on complex software and computer algorithms. \u00a0A redistricting consultant can use an algorithm [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10024,"featured_media":0,"parent":17071,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"abstract.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17074","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10024"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17074"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24666,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17074\/revisions\/24666"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}