Redistricting maps can be fair, nonpartisan

Dear Editor:

As required by law, the Georgia State Legislature is currently updating state and congressional district lines using data from the 2020 Census. In the past, both Republicans and Democrats have misused this responsibility in order to draw maps that will favor their party. But now we have a way to utilize sophisticated computer modeling to evaluate this data to minimize political interference and potential gerrymandering.

The nonpartisan group Fair Districts Georgia, in collaboration with the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, has been developing a set of benchmarks to illustrate what we could expect from maps that are fairly drawn. These benchmarks will give us a point of reference to compare and evaluate the maps that are proposed. Information on these benchmarks and links to PGP can be found at the Fair Districts GA website, www.fairdistrictsga.org.

PGP created these benchmarks by drawing 1 million maps per chamber, then measuring partisan balance, competitive districts and majority-minority representation to develop a numerical range for each test. The differences between expected analysis results from the 1 million maps and analysis of the legislature’s proposed maps can highlight the possibility of manipulation or gerrymandering.

Fair Districts Georgia and PGP have made their expertise available to the legislature and the committees responsible for drawing these maps. Unfortunately to date, the process of redistricting has remained behind closed doors.

I would like to encourage voters to contact their legislators and ask that their secretly-drawn maps be measured against established benchmarks like those developed by Fair Districts Georgia and the Princeton Gerrymandering Project prior to adoption. You can reach your legislator at www.legis.ga.gov.

Cyd Wells

Athens