From today’s The Guardian:
Earlier this month, after years of litigation, a federal judge in Alabama ordered a new state senate map. In a surprising decision, the map she chose wasn’t one drafted by a court-appointed special master and his expert cartographer, but rather one that had been submitted by an anonymous member of the public, known only by their initials, “DD”.
The decision stunned “DD” – an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Alabama named Daniel DiDonato – who learned his map had been selected as he was preparing to leave for his 9.30am introduction to political science class.
“I was absolutely surprised,” he said in an interview. “Now, nearly 300,000 Alabamians will be voting under new district lines that I drew up at two in the morning in a dorm, a cramped dorm study room.”
DiDonato’s success underscores how the wide availability of redistricting data and mapping software has transformed mapmaking from something once reserved for supercomputers and backrooms to an activity that anyone can participate in. It’s a transformation that has allowed for observers to immediately scrutinize maps for partisanship or signs of racial discrimination.
The widespread availability of political data tools has created an online community – Election Twitter – where political, data and mapmaking junkies will create and share maps and forecasts. DiDonato said he “definitely” considered himself a member.
“You have a whole bunch of these kids who are snippy and savvy and know about the Voting Rights Act, Section 2 of the VRA,” said Chaz Nuttycombe, 26, who developed an impressive record forecasting state legislative races while a student at Virginia Tech and has since founded State Navigate, a non-profit focused on state legislatures. “I’ve seen maps put together by special masters that I disagree with, and I’ve seen kids on Election Twitter put forward [better] maps for equivalent states and districts than those special masters.”
In August, US district judge Anna Manasco, a Trump appointee, had ruled the map Alabama Republicans adopted in 2021 diluted the influence of Black voters in the area around the state capital of Montgomery, which was a violation of the Voting Rights Act. After the Alabama legislature declined to implement a new map, she appointed a special master to come up with a new one. The special master invited members of the public to submit possible plans.
Read the complete story here.