political science
For this discussion’s simulation, you will be tasked with completing Mission #2, Partisan redistricting, Basic. You will work on behalf of one of the political parties and are tasked with redrawing district lines to favor your political party. You will be given a map of 4 districts each with small dots representing people according to their party affiliation (red for Republican, blue for Democrat). As you drag and redraw the district lines, elected officials give you feedback through their animated expressions as well as written comments–happy if their reelection is ensured, concerned if the divide is a toss up between parties, and outraged if their district will flip to the other party.
Your job is redraw the district lines so that EACH of your party’s candidates has enough votes to win. You will also need to try to keep the population in each district relatively the same to complete your mission. Once you meet the mission’s objectives, you can submit your plan for a vote and eventually the Governor’s signature.
To complete this discussion, go to the Redistricting website and click on links to take you to Mission #2, Basic.; choose your political party, Next, and Begin Mission 2; LINK: http://redistrictinggame.org/game.php drag the district lines to gain votes for your party while trying to keep population within all districts between 640 – 650,000; once you have green check marks in all 4 districts take a picture (use a snipping tool or other tool); save your picture; (you may then finish the game by moving to Step 2 and Step 3 if you’d like but your picture needs to be of Step 1 completion). To post your results, come back to this discussion, click on Reply and using the attach icon (paper clip) find your picture and attach it; Next, type in the first paragraph what you learned about redistricting and in particular “gerrymandering.” In a second paragraph, discuss what you believe state legislatures SHOULD and COULD do when drawing their state’s district lines–be sure to weigh in on the power of political parties in drawing district lines. Post Reply.
