Awful Mini Golf Takes Aim At The Strategic Craft Of Gerrymandering
By Mikelle Leow, 12 Jan 2022
Once every decade, states get to resculpt the boundaries of their congressional voting districts, setting the course for politicians that leads them into the US House of Representatives. The next round will take place this November and, as always, it’s a sticky situation. It paves the way for gerrymandering, the manipulation of electoral district boundaries to get the most voters.
To illustrate this concept, the Washington Post has created a frustrating little game that imagines state maps as mini-golf courses. The playing field gets more ridiculous as the game progresses as each area is “the result of careful calculation,” notes the news outlet.
The first level, a map of Wyoming, is a giveaway, as the congressional district is the entire state. The 2nd District of New Mexico is a little trickier—and before you know it, you’ll be navigating an IKEA store, not a mini-golf course.
You can check out the interactive visualization here.
[via Fast Company and The Washington Post, screenshots via The Washington Post]