How effective is the efficiency gap?

Authors

Thomas Q. Sibley, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-3-2023

Disciplines

Mathematics | Political Science

Abstract

Gerrymandering has affected U. S. politics since at least 1812. A political cartoon that year decried this tactic by then Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry. (Gerrymandering is manipulating the boundaries of districts to benefit a group unfairly.)

While we may feel we know a gerrymander when we see one, finding a meaningful metric has proven challenging. This article uses elementary mathematics to investigate the efficiency gap, a recent model proposed to measure gerrymandering.

Copyright Statement

Copyright© 2023 The Authors. This is the accepted manuscript; the final published version may be obtained from Cambridge University Press at https://doi.org/10.1017/mag.2023.52.

Recommended Citation

Sibley, TQ. 2023. How effective is the efficiency gap? The Mathematical Gazette 107(569): 218-224. https://doi.org/10.1017/mag.2023.52