I need you to craft a paper analyzing the Florida congressional districting plan for potential partisan gerrymandering similar to Moss’s essay (attached) on New Jersey, Follow these detailed instructions:
Title and Introduction
• Create a title page with your name (Write : name) the professor’s name (Write: Professor ), the course (PLSC400), and the date (4/24/2024).
• Begin your essay with an introduction that describes the concept of partisan gerrymandering, similar to Moss’s introduction. You’ll be using the guidelines from the Freedom to Vote Act and applying five empirical tests: the Efficiency Gap, Partisan Symmetry, Median Minus Mean, Observed vs. Expected Wins, and Declination.
Materials Needed
– Moss’s essay is attatched, this is going to be the most useful attatchment as you can base how you write it and what steps to take directly off the paper
• The Freedom to Vote Act (for guidelines on the legal framework)- attached
• Observed district results from Florida’s recent elections -attached
• Ensemble or expected results based on computer simulations -attached
• Information about Florida’s districting plan, as described in the images provided
• Access to Campaign Legal Center’s website (https://planscore.org/#!2022-ushouse) for descriptions of the tests
– More attatched files include Gerrymander Analysis given to me by the prof – which you can cite
Instructions
1. Background Research: Study Florida’s congressional redistricting history and process using the information provided in the images, noting key changes, political influences, and legal battles that have shaped the current districting plan.
2. Data Collection: Gather the observed election results for the presidential elections of 2016 and 2020, and the senatorial elections of 2016 and 2018, for Florida. Acquire the expected results from computer simulations that calculate what a fair distribution of seats might look like based on nonpartisan criteria.
3. Analysis Preparation: Familiarize yourself with the Freedom to Vote Act, focusing on Section 5003, which outlines the criteria for redistricting and prohibits plans that favor or disfavor political parties.
4. Analysis Execution:
• Observed vs. Expected Results: Compare the observed and expected election results for each district. Note any discrepancies where the number of seats won by a party exceeds the expected number in at least two out of the four elections, as this may indicate gerrymandering.
• Efficiency Gap: Use the mean Democratic vote percentages from the provided data to calculate the efficiency gap for each election, as demonstrated by Moss.
• Partisan Symmetry: Apply the concept of partisan symmetry to Florida by comparing the percentage of votes each party receives to the percentage of seats they win. Use the descriptions from the Campaign Legal Center to guide your calculations.
• Median Minus Mean: Calculate the difference between the median and mean vote percentages for each election. A consistent advantage for one party indicates potential gerrymandering.
• Declination: Analyze the distribution of votes across districts to measure the declination angle. This metric will help identify any asymmetry in vote distribution that favors one party over another.
5. Synthesis of Results: Evaluate the outcomes of each test and determine whether any of the results indicate a violation of the Freedom to Vote Act. Even a single test indicating a gerrymander is significant according to the Act’s standards.
6. Writing the Paper: Draft the paper following a structure similar to Moss’s, with sections for each analysis test and a final synthesis of results. Each section should:
• Explain the purpose and methodology of the test.
• Present the data used.
• Describe the process of applying the test.
• Discuss the results and their implications.
7. Conclusion: Summarize the findings, highlighting which tests indicated a gerrymander and the overall implications for Florida’s redistricting plan.
8. Citations and References: Include a bibliography with proper citations (MLA) for the Freedom to Vote Act, and any other external references used in your analysis, following a consistent citation style.
– Please let me know any questions (specific or not) I will answer them
