{"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":"2025-05-12T11:12:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T15:12:55","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<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>\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 [&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,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"class_list":["post-17074","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"ticketed":false,"_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":33,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23240,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17074\/revisions\/23240"}],"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}]}}