Possible adjustments to FDPA People's Senate Map
View Map on Dave's Redistricting (https://davesredistricting.org/join/44a432e6-84d5-4d6a-9a38-eb3eb6776231)
This variation on the FDPA People's Map places higher priority on split reduction and compact districts. As secondary goals, this map reduces partisan bias and adds a fourth majority-Black district straddling West Philadelphia and Delaware County. These modifications are not necessarily improvements, and are not intended as a critique of FDPA's work. They simply indicate what can be achieved using the People's map as a starting point, and adjusting to pursue different goals. I was influenced by the remarks of Senator Argall on the importance of keeping smaller counties whole. His home, Schuylkill County, was especially challenging. I was able to keep Schuylkill intact in SD15 by redrawing much of Southeastern PA, and by crossing the Susquehanna River rather awkwardly in SD11. Where possible, I also respected school district boundaries when making changes. A comparison of key metrics follows. The small drop in the Minority Representation score is mainly due to sacrificing the minority opportunity district that FDPA created in Allegheny County. (I tried to create a new opportunity district in South Central PA, but the demographic shifts around York and Lancaster cities have not quite reached critical mass yet.) POPULATION DEVIATION FDPA People's Map: 4.98% Amended Version: 5.57% SPLITTING FDPA People's Map: 77 Amended Version: 81 COMPACTNESS FDPA People's Map: 62 Amended Version: 66 MINORITY REPRESENTATION FDPA People's Map: 61 Amended Version: 57 PROPORTIONALITY (Based on 2012-2018 Composite Election Data): FDPA People's Map: 100 Amended Version: 100 PARTISAN BIAS FDPA People's Map: 48 Amended Version: 53 VOTES BIAS FDPA People's Map: 2.03% R Amended Version: 1.44% R SEATS BIAS FDPA People's Map: 6.10% R Amended Version: 4.36% R