Dave's Redistricting


Dave's Redistricting is an online web app created by Dave Bradlee that allows anyone to simulate redistricting a U.S. state's legislative districts.

Purpose

According to Bradlee, the software was designed to "put power in people's hands," and so that they "can see how the process works, so it's a little less mysterious than it was 10 years ago." Bradlee has noticed that many citizens are taking this process seriously and using his app to create legitimate redistricting maps that could be put in place. Some websites have called Bradlee the pioneer and cause of the rise of do-it-yourself redistricting.
Dave's Redistricting has frequently been mentioned as a resource that can be used to combat gerrymandering, given that the public has free access to it.
Political science firms such as FiveThirtyEight have used the website to draw examples of gerrymandered districts, including on their famous Atlas of Redistricting.

Functions

Users can redraw the congressional districts for all 50 states with a given Cook PVI. With the use of PVI, any state can knowingly be gerrymandered to favor one political party over the other.

Versions