Team 'Lithuania Is Fake,' Honorable Mention, Youth-Central

About Samantha Lauck: I'm a sophomore at Central Columbia High School. My favorite subjects in school are math and history. In my free time I like reading and hanging out with my friends.

About  Lauren LaRouche: I am going into 10th grade at Central Columbia School, and I enjoy learning about government. I also enjoy after-school activities such as ballet, Irish dancing, karate, and Girl Scouts.

Other team members pictured are:  Ruby Podeschi, Sayre Kurecian,  Anastasia Ferdock (Biographies requested from all.)

Judges' statement

We all agreed to honor this map in large part because it is an unusual example of a team map that beats the median score in every category.

This is not luck. It has to mean that the team was able to communicate and negotiate very effectively to get to such a good outcome. The team also seemed to have started their map in Central PA, which makes sense given where they live. But it’s an approach we don't see often and one that resulted in a fair and attractive map.

Explore the map

Endorsements: 5

Personal statement

Our mission statement: After discussing gerrymandering at length in our AP Government class, we decided that representation by population was the best path for our map. It allows equal but competitive races within each district. Also, we find that the precedent of “one person, one vote” set in the Supreme Court case Baker v. Carr is very important. We believe that “one person, one vote” is important because it gives people an equal opportunity regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or party. Each vote will count for an equal amount and no district’s voters will have more influence than others.   

Full list of spring 2019 winners