Stage #3: Gerrymandering and Computers

This is an opinion piece, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/opinion/sunday/computers-gerrymandering-wisconsin.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront, from the New York Times written by Jordan Ellenberg on October 6, 2017 about gerrymandering and how computers have affected the practice. Gerrymandering, while being a ridiculous name, is a serious issue. It is the process in which governmental officials redraw district's boundaries to favor their own party and and Ellenberg explains in this article why this has become such a big issue in the 21st century. The author's probable intended audience would be all U.S. voters regardless of party but it could be seen as more geared towards Democratic voters because the evidence used is only about republican's gerrymandering, specifically in Wisconsin. Ellenberg is seen as a credible source in my opinion because as a professor of mathematics I would expect him to take pride in his figures and statistics used and ensure they are accurate and as a voter himself in Wisconsin, he has real motivation for addressing this issue in his home state. The argument put forth does make a lot of sense when looking at the numbers used because according to the article, Wisconsin has about the same number of Democrats and Republicans yet the State Legislature is 65% Republican which is a bigger majority than in conservative strongholds like Texas.  He explains how gerrymandering used to be almost a political art form that only some could master but now with computers and easy algorithms to use, it has become far to easy to create districts that can almost 100% accurately predict the voting patterns in any political climate. This is what he argues makes gerrymandering a whole different ballgame then what is was back in the day because it is so simple for officials to utilize these tools to their advantage. He ends the piece by leaving the reader to think and form their own opinion on if these really are masterful plots to fix elections or if they are simply random and innocuous decisions.