[EM] Lincoln; Big money, gerrymanders, rotten EC, etc.

[hager2002 at lsh107.siteprotect.com]

RE: gerrymanders.

I'm currently investigating the possibility of using "cake cutting" as a 
way to avoid gerrymanders in the redistricting process.  The basic 
principle is simply elucidated by looking at the problem of how two people 
divide a cake in a manner that both accept.  The intuitive solution is for 
one person to cut the cake and the other to choose.  (I tested the 
intuitiveness on my 10 year old daughter, asking her to come up with a 
fair way to divide the cake and she immediately offered the solution.  Not 
scientific, but definitely illuminating.)

For redistricting, it would seem that a similar process could be used.  
Instead of whichever party controlled the state legislature drawing the
district lines, the parties would participate in a "cake cutting"  
procedure, with party 1 drawing up a map and party 2 then selecting
acceptable districts.  Party 2 would then divide the remainder of the map
(minus the selected district(s)) and party 1 would select.  One approach
would be to alternate selecting one district at a time.  Possibly two at a
time could be done.  Another approach might be for party 1 to draw the
map, and party 2 can select any number of acceptable districts and then
draw its map for the remainder.  Since computers can take census data and
draw district maps based upon criteria of acceptable district size, even
multiple rounds of the cake cutting process could actually be conducted
fairly quickly.  Practically speaking, the cake cutting negotiation period
could be fixed and formalized so that it would be no longer than the
amount of time it typically takes a legislature to redraw district lines.

First off, is any state using a redistricting procedure like the one I'm 
suggesting?

Secondly, any cake cutting method needs to be generalized to allow for a
multi-party state doing redistricting.  I know that Steven Brams has
developed an N-player solution for "cake cutting", so I'm running this
part past him.

If the basic idea is feasible, I'd like to issue a campaign press release 
including it in a package of post-AV electoral reforms for Indiana.

Comments?

-- 
paul hager		hager2002 at hager2002.org

"The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason."
			-- Thomas Paine, THE AGE OF REASON

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