The Redistricting Game

[ChristaCourson]

I have to play this game for my AP government class x-x

Cannot beat mission 5 for the life of me!

Anyone know how to beat Mission 5? Hit me up :D

[kaylynnmay04]

I hate this game..

I have to do it for an assignment in my government class.

and i cannot beat mission two, and it is driving me up a wall.....

[kellyeself]

I LOVE this game and my students LOVE this game. I teach U.S. government and AP U.S. Government. This games does a great job of getting the process across to my students and gets them thinking about the process and whether it is the right way to apportion representation of not! Bravo to the makers of the game....and if they make one about voter turnout...I want to know!

[marcustheroman]

somebody help me with mission 4 plz

[holachicagringa]

someone please tell me how to beat mission 5 on this game. like seriously i need to know its pissing me off. write on my page or respond to this comment

[gizmosells]

Common sense draw poltical boundries on county lines, and critera to limit vote packing. Incumbents both democrats, and republicans benefit from gerrymandering, or playmandering the system. Look at Delay in 2003 reforms are needed to have competitve elections.

[Zackerxy]

YOu cant just go on county lines though, because you must have population equality. It is sometimes neccessary to break such hard lines.

[Bullettube]

Every American should demand an end to redistricting by political parties! It should be done by a non-partisan group every 10 years.

[sabenbennett]

Or every election by an independently appointed organisation. Australia has no problems with the AEC.

[camalusthegodofwar]

We have a bicameral system for a reason. To make sure each state has a equal voice (The Senate) and to make sure the population of each state is effectively represented (The House). Its to make sure that the large states down override the small states and that the majority is still heard.

[sabenbennett]

Agree with this comment. Bicameral systems put checks and balances in place in the legislative sector of government. In Australia our Senate works as a review body- no House legislation can pass without the approve of the Senate. A 2 house majority is required to pass most legislation, though usually the Senate allowed legislation drafted in the House to pass with revisions, even if the minor parties hold the Balance of Power.

[Sagitarius54]

you know N.Y. has 31 votes in congress, To our 8! Demacracy is such a wonderful thing! Stock market,World trade center and banks and the highest income per citizen in the U.S.!

[sabenbennett]

Democracy is based on individuals having equal rights, Republics are based on states having equal rights. America is a Democratic Republic, individual rights have to be balanced with states' rights. I don't think the Electoral College is the main threat to democracy in America. STV would be a great system for ensuring Democracy WITHIN the states and fairness between states at a federal level.

[NewspeakDictionary]

1. Switch from our current "Plurality Voting" method of running elections to IRV (Instant Run-Off Voting). This will assure that every candidate is supported by a majority, and will end the "3-party spoiler" effect.

2. Create a verifiable electronic election system. Give each voter a paper receipt and allow him to compare this to a public voting database to make sure their votes aren't tampered with.

3. Redistricting Reform.

Without these reforms, democracy does not exist.

[camalusthegodofwar]

I don't agree with the IRV. You're just adding another step. Plurality voting is just more straight forward.

[sabenbennett]

More straight forward, and less democratic. I happen to prefer democracy over simplicity.

Of course, I live in Australia where IRV is used. I happen to favour STV (Single Transferable Vote) for American presidential elections. It fits in better with the history of the Electoral College. IRV is for single-member electorates.

[sternsiriusfan]

Who cares?? Corparations run America!! Polititions keep guys like you distracted!! Quack, quack, quack!!

[henryjanok]

great job, cool 4*

janok

[XeeJay2]

How can one person change anything? This is a real question...anyone that has ever felt helpless knows what I mean.

[jbeezz]

We all feel helpless but it's the groups of one that make many, many, many (votes). You have to keep trying to make change and bond (and vote) with those who want the same changes as you do.

[bekkaboo0411]

I may. I work for the government, so when I'm off of work, it's not really something I feel like spending my free time with. After you see the "behind the scenes" crap with all the corruption, you just kinda throw your hands in the air and give up.

Take care and keep up the good work!

[bekkaboo0411]

JACOB!!!! You slowed down and this is sooooo much better than the video I commented on back in July. Much, MUCH easier to follow you!

BRAVO on being able to take constructive criticism without getting all uppity and huffy (like many on youtube do)and keep that in mind for future posts. I salute you!

[WhyTuesday]

thanks i hope that means you will subscribe and stay involved! :)

[RongWrongTV]

MAKE ALL DISTRICTS WATERSHEDS. Why? Permanent, ungerrymanderable, directly a reflection of more permanent communities's local interests; and more.... biostate . blogspot . com

[Monroediddly]

Voting is a trick, a system that has been exploited. It has become obsolete, and a new, creative way of life must be found. Inward Revolution must come within our grasp if we wish to survive.

[Waldemar3]

Excellent concept! Once again, it's great to see an oft-overlooked aspect of American politics; Maybe THIS TIME we can get more people interested in the very system that our country is based on. :-)

[dragon8me2]

Maybe you can put this in your game; a bunch of flat footed Texas cops riding elephants chasing donkeys. Or maybe addressing why Americans don't realize that there more than 2 parties to vote for. We really need something new. 2 feathers from the same bird just don't cut it anymore.

[dragon8me2]

Remember what happened in Texas? The Repugs were in control so the Demos left the state and the Repugs sent the Texas Rangers,(not the baseball team) after them to bring them back to vote, or to loose the vote for redistricting. Now all the districts are in favor of the Repugs. Reminds me how W stole the elections, (sounds like something Dr Suiz, I know it's not spelled right, would have written).

[MikhailMarx]

Brilliant information, too bad it's just the surface of the insanity that is the universe.

[sabenbennett]

Of course, there are things Australia can learn from America (such as the seperate of powers).

But look at the Australian Senate for a workable model that protects State's rights while still enacting a majority opinion. Search wikipedia for Single Transferable Vote and then think of that system being used in Presidential elections where each Electoral College vote is one "seat".

I think it is as close to a perfect compromise between a Democracy and a Republic as is possible.

[sabenbennett]

Look up the Australian Electoral Commission.

I can't say it more clearly than that. All ballotting and redistricting in Australia is done by the central electoral authority. It is uniform and independent, free from partisan politics.

Australia might have a black mark to its name due to compulsory voting. But we also have the highest voter turnout in the world.

We are a republic with states, just like America. Yet our elections are the more representative of two democratic systems.

[envyjealous]

How to "rob" ignorant people blind...

[vidensodoacer]

I want that game.  Seriously.

[HitzeOrHeat]

wwhat if no one voted?

[tnsxbdyc]

Then Republicans would rule the United States. You do know what a Democracy is right?

[Militarized]

Obviously you don't, since we live in a Republic, not a Democracy.

[Northgrant]

Oh so people who live in cities are more important than the ones that live in the country? Just goes to show your liberal ignorance.

[WhyTuesday]

Of course not. And no one should have unfair or unnecessary barriers to voting. Our point is that 80% of Americans live in urban areas today, as opposed to in 1845 when the Tuesday voting rule was put into place to make it convenient for the 80% of Americans who lived in rural areas then, and had to often travel a day or longer to get ot the polls. --Jacob

[mystykit]

Very glad to see this issue get some daylight at last. Thanx for posting the video.

[dsd66613]

this game is surprisingly difficult! but if it opens some eyes, good on it. jerrymandering is disgusting.

[gueneveve]

Nice video. Thanks for obviating this to the public. This and the electoral college definitely throw a spin on things, when as we've seen, popular vote can sometimes account for nothing.

[envyjealous]

People really need to "understand" what really matters to them (freedom). A taxpayer must have a say (vote) on how the government (elected representatives)spends their contributions (tax) for the good of all governed (majority of the people)... and nation.

Transparency in the "process" is a must... otherwise,

Secrecy is Deception...

DisInformation is Manipulation...

Power is Dictatorship...

[RussellsParadox]

Redistrict any way you want - Democracy is still basically worthless trash.

[camalusthegodofwar]

My favorite thing about our electorial system is that the people who don't vote complain the most about the government.

[gueneveve]

True. Still, what does it really matter, when you only have two candidates to choose from, and your vote doesn't count half the time, anyway?

[WhyTuesday]

gueneveve, that's why we're raising other questions, too. "why tuesday?" and "what is redistricting and why does it happen the way it does?" are just for starters. log onto our site at whytuesday-dot-org, read our blog and stay tuned to our videos because we're trying to help fix our voting system by asking one question at a time. --jacob

[gueneveve]

Thanks for raising awareness, btw.  I appreciate that.

[KouterBangue]

If everyone in America would stop being so anti-American and just vote republican all our problems would be solved. We wouldn't have redistricting, godlessness, or taxes. I think we can learn from this video, its time for Americans to unite, watch nascar, and vote republican!

[eswyatt]

When I took a political science class, the gerrymandering seemed kind of analogous to a neural-net, where values for & against the desired result are adjusted until you get the optimal result. I wonder if neural nets would be useful in analyzing these issues?

[DirtyDeals]

This is interesting but the American Idol analogy is stretching. I think perhaps Americian Idol recieves more voter participation because of the multiple forms of casting votes from home via the Internet, phone and texting verses one day at one location with long wait lines during the most convient time frames. Also multiple cast are allowed? I know I vote 10 plus times for my favorite Idol but I can only cast one ballot for president!

[WhyTuesday]

Thanks for your comment, you make a good point. I should note that by comparing our voting system to Idol I don't mean to say that we should be voting multiple times, nor that we should vote by text message. But what I do mean to point out is that they have found a way to make voting accessible to everyone, and our politicians haven't - at least on a scale that works for the everyone. --Jacob

[chadagg]

cool game - wish more people would play it

[markeyboy123]

good video. I wish we had like a week to vote -- would it be improbable to get legislation passed before the next election?

[WhyTuesday]

it's a good question and a matter of political will. there is a bill in congress first introduced in 2005 that would mandate early voting in every state, but the bill hasn't seen much action since March. right now only 35 states have some form of early voting. for the rest of us, it's Tuesday or bust. --Jacob

[unclejohnthezef]

but saint fletch, just "More" voters is not the answer. look, your fine country elected a puppet war mongerer, even though your fine people are against the war. education alone is not the answer, most voters seem to be passionate only about a handful of issues and don't care about economics, etc. i think it still needs to be a case by case, abuse by abuse thrashing for elections and investigations of incumbents... wish i had an easier answer

[WhyTuesday]

you're right. fixing our voting system will not happen with a simple increase in turnout. but by removing barriers to voting so that every eligible citizen can have his or her vote counted, and also know that that vote counts, an increase in turnout might just be a what happens as a result. after all, we have almost nowhere to go but up. USA ranks in the bottom 20% of countries in the world in voter turnout.

[fasteddie44]

Low voter turnout makes it much easier for politicians to manipulate the system. In many cases, it's simply a matter of getting more of you supporters to come to the polls. Devisive issues like gay marriage are used to get them there. That's why those issues play a much stronger roll in the process than they merrit. If a lot more people voted, it would be more difficult to use these issues to political advantage.

[agentaerick]

so where is this game?

is there a link somewhere to it?

[WhyTuesday]

redistrictinggame-dot-org. --Jacob

[summersun1965]

Pepsi or Coca Cola

They are the SAME.

two party politics are one and the same

flip flop and nothing changes.

just more war

dont believe polls!

[davevontexas]

For those of you who aren't from the US, what summersun1965 is doing is very American these days: facile cynicism and passing the buck. Unfortunately, the average US citizen reads at about a 7th grade reading level (and when you think about our schools, that's really frightening), and, like Jar Jar Binks, the jedi mind trick of passing off irresponsibility for "individualism" works on them.

[saintfletcher]

We have a much higher turnout in Australia: 1) Because voting is Compulsory. Voting is an obligation like paying taxes, filling a census, schooling for children and births and death certificates. It also means it is illegal for employers to not allow you time off to vote. 2) Voting is on a Saturday. Less people work on Saturdays. We still have gerimanders here. The districting game is the sneakiest of them all. Even if the man looks like Superman, like in this video.

[bt071971]

The most important vote is the Primaries, this is the most corrupt voting day in America. It is when they limit the Presidential vote to only 2 candidates. After the Primaries, the fix is in.

[MadBam163]

I've played this game its actually pretty fun.

[Videofrigate69]

OK . . .so how does voting on Tuesday make it more convenient for a "largely agrarian society"?

[WhyTuesday]

it often took a day or longer to get to the polls in 1845 and generally Wednesday was market day. No traveling on Sunday, a day of rest, so by process of elimination, Tuesday. --Jacob

[geoblankman]

"Oh Philadelphia... you guys have that liberty bell...right?"

aifam etaks dnuora

[oneundergod1]

clearly divides us into nice little packetts,

we should be only divided into autonimous , interdependant school districts, the school forms govt [provides all govt services [from the school, who send representaives to serve in the higher levels of government[who tackle specific higher problems , by appointing minesters to oversee govt servants acts [like an ombudsman ,each school sends its rep[best qualified[trusted to serve its peoples needs

[metallica72487]

nice work

[physivic]

public funding for elections; third parties; better voting machines & tracking. the US also ranks low in media transparency, which is important to voting.

Anyway, there should be no polls but the one that matters. otherwise, we're stuck with the same two factions of the business party.

[ragnar704]

Nice intro, but is there a part 2? The designer of the "game" never gave any conclusions about what he learned.

[WhyTuesday]

Check out the game's site for more info. The game lets the user make his or her own conclusion about the way redistricting happens now by letting you trying to redraw the district lines using several sets of rules, including ones based on a reform law currently working its way through congress. -- Jacob

[physivic]

Good work!

[rookandpawn]

great project!!!! this is definitely an important video and a important project to protect and maintain Democracy.

[WhyTuesday]

thanks --Jacob

[BetterSexThroughYoga]

where can we get the game?

[WhyTuesday]

redistrictinggame-dot-org

[SparklestheClown]

That is really good info. We need to know and understand more about this. Also, Regards Idol. More people think that they can have an impact on those results than in the vote, because it is true. Sadly, but true.

Keep up the work on awareness.

Sparklestheclown

[DeadlyChinchilla]

Redistricting can change the numbers for a county/area dramatically, depending on how their organized. Rep's will organize to their benefit, so will Dems. It happens, and it probably does effect the voting process more than you think.

[oneundergod1]

had an idea that sociaty should be reformed arround school districts ,that the school contain all covt services plus the kids , plus the old people plus the sick etc[that the school district self adminesters ,providing all govt services ,basiclly if its govt go to your local school [for any govt related need] can you test the theory [cost it?for savings[on the many small fish in small ponds theory?

[trevmarps]

Voting serves no purpose, its just to make the people think they have control. The system is corrupted. Do some research, I did.

[nikeswooshguy]

Exactly. That's why candidates spend millions on influencing voters: because it has no purpose.

[trevmarps]

Eh man, look up the Canadain Action Party. Gota rep these guys, they the only legit party out there dude.

[ALEXMONTCLAIR]

Maybe in Canada, but in the U.S. it does have purpose. However when the majority of the population does NOT vote it has no purpose. GO OUT AND VOTE PEOPLE.

[trevmarps]

Well I was referring to the U.S. but not dissn but look some stuff up. I came to this conclusion through my personal research

[ALEXMONTCLAIR]

I admire you actually taking the time to research to hold a honest debate. However I am in college and have taken several political science classes already. Our (US) is not flawed, we just have a low voter rate. If more people voted I can deffinately for a fact say that you would hear less complaints.

[trevmarps]

No offence, but classes taken in collage on the matter will only inform you on the in the box system. One thing which can benefit you is researching whats called "The natural person". Also a widely recognized film called "From Freedom to Fascism" by the academy award winning Director Arron Russo, will give you a glimpse of what im talking about. It's the most viewed video on video Google

freedomtofascism dot com

[Flufflescump]

Youtube comment boards aren't the place to have a serious discussion about politics, but don't be so quick to dismiss college-level political science courses as "inside the box" thinking.

As for "From Freedom to Fascism," Arron Russo never won an Acadamy Award (though he has won an Emmy for a Bette Midler TV special). The film itself is intellectually dishonest and is chock-full of conspiracy theory logic.

[Ross3]

Too bad it would be impossible to really change the districts aka Counties because of the local laws, perks, citizenships, etcetera.

[KeroroGunsouTX]

Lol @ our "democracy".

[Taggerung797]

XD SECOND!

-Scourge

[SiliconBong]

Always wanted to know a thing or two about the U.S. political system.