Question

gerrymander the following area to fit the desired outcome described above each grid.
each district should contain five voters (voters are represented as either an x or an o) and must be
contiguous (connected - not divided by any other district)
the election is a tie\tx wins the election\to wins the election

what techniques did you use to achieve the desired results in the exercise above? explain.

Explanation:

To achieve the desired election results (tie, X wins, O wins) through gerrymandering, the key technique is packing and cracking (and ensuring contiguity).

• Packing: Concentrate one group’s voters (e.g., O) into a few districts to minimize their influence elsewhere (used for “X wins” or “O wins”).
• Cracking: Spread one group’s voters across many districts to dilute their power (used for “tie” or to balance districts).
• Contiguity: Ensure each district’s 5 voters are connected (no gaps/divisions by other districts).

For each grid:

• Tie: Balance X and O voters per district (e.g., 2 - 3 or 3 - 2 splits) across districts.
• X wins: Create more districts where X has a majority (e.g., 3 Xs + 2 Os) by packing O voters into fewer districts.
• O wins: Create more districts where O has a majority (e.g., 3 Os + 2 Xs) by packing X voters into fewer districts.

Visually, this involves drawing district boundaries (contiguous 5 - cell blocks) to manipulate the number of districts each group wins.

Answer:

The primary technique is gerrymandering via packing (concentrating one group’s voters) and cracking (diluting one group’s voters), with all districts being contiguous (5 - voter connected blocks). For each outcome:

• Tie: Balance X/O per district.
• X wins: Pack O voters, crack X voters to create more X - majority districts.
• O wins: Pack X voters, crack O voters to create more O - majority districts.