A discrete districting plan

Abstract

The outcome of elections is strongly dependent on the districting choices, making thus possible (and frequent) the gerrymandering phenomenon, i.e.\ politicians suitably changing the shape of electoral districts in order to win the forthcoming elections. While so far the problem has been treated using continuous analysis tools, it has been recently pointed out that a more reality-adherent model would use the discrete geometry of graphs or networks. Here we propose a parameter-dependent discrete model for choosing an "optimal" districting plan. We analyze several properties of the model and lay foundations for further analysis on the subject.