Personal statement
The map I designed prioritizes contiguity and equal population to the degree allowed by the criteria, aiming for around the top 25% range of equal population, compared to the Fall 2018 competition metrics. The other goal of the map was to make a map that was clean and compact without any sort of sprawling borders to the best of my ability. This factor was kept in balance with the other two required criteria as the existing borders often clashed with one or the other two requirements.
This was a solo project; I worked alone on this map. I did not make use of other's opinions on the map because I did not feel the people that I usually associate with are not knowledgeable enough about the issues of redistricting and gerrymandering to make an informed input. I personally have little stake in Pennsylvania's redistricting issue as a state because I am from out of state, and have only been in Pennsylvania for a year, and have not paid much attention to the politics of Pennsylvania's district border issues. My interest in terms of the redistricting issue is purely academic, as I have no strong feelings regarding the issue.
