March 2nd, 2021
We’re almost there. One last time, before the 2020 Census data reveals its data this fall, the Draw the Lines public mapping competition is giving Pennsylvania’s students and voters the chance to simulate how they will divide PA’s congressional and legislative districts before the maps are drawn for real later this year.
Enter your map by June 1st, and you could win a regional prize up to $500, or the statewide grand prize up to $2,000 (for students; adult state prizes are $1,000). More importantly, provide a major contribution to PA’s future.
For this round, Draw the Lines is using a brand-new version of DistrictBuilder. It's faster and more user-friendly. Mappers can drill down to the census block level, allowing you to draw districts exactly equal in population (not required for this competition, but a nice skill to show off). Still, there a few things missing from DB, including political data, information on county splits, and a statewide summary of your map scores. Those should be in place in the coming weeks.
We invite you to also check out Dave’s Redistricting App. Dave’s uses VTD’s (voter tabulation districts) as its base geounit, but its metrics are top-notch. Soon, you’ll be able to even export your map from Dave’s and import it into DistrictBuilder. (Just for sake of the competition, if you draw a map in DRA, please be sure to take this final step so we have an apples-to-apples comparison.)
Once you’ve completed your map, you can then upload the link and complete your personal statement on this form.
We have all sorts of resources to help you draw your map. Check out the DistrictBuilder user guide, competition rules, previous contest winners, Flashes of Insight exercise, and everything else on our Draw a Map page.
Questions? Reach out at info@drawthelinespa.org.