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Activity Number:
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499
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Type:
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Contributed
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Date/Time:
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Thursday, August 10, 2006 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
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Sponsor:
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Social Statistics Section
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| Abstract - #306891 |
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Title:
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Toward Redistricting Rules Based on Housing Density and Indivisible Census Tracts
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Author(s):
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Tom Belin*+
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Companies:
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University of California, Los Angeles
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Address:
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Department of Biostatistics, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772,
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Keywords:
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census ; compactness ; congressional districts ; one person one vote ; partisanship ; voting rights act
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Abstract:
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Recent experience shows the political impact of different approaches to drawing congressional district lines. Redistricting necessarily involves statistical considerations, but legal criteria for judging redistricting plans have remained ambiguous. This presentation outlines a framework for redistricting rules that would: (1) treat census tracts (rather than census blocks) as indivisible units; (2) strive for balance between districts not solely in terms of population size but also in terms of housing density; and (3) incorporate geometric compactness into a criterion summarizing the quality of the redistricting plan. While requiring changes in the legal environment of redistricting, such an approach, it is argued, would enhance the competitiveness of congressional elections and would reduce the potential for partisan games in the redistricting process.
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- The address information is for the authors that have a + after their name.
- Authors who are presenting talks have a * after their name.
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