Photo: Tufts University
An American mathematician is using maths and computer science to end the decades-old political tactic of gerrymandering. It's a practice used by both Republicans and Democrats in the US to manipulate electoral boundaries to influence elections and stay in power. It's sparked lengthy court challenges in districts where election outcomes have been unfairly skewed.
Professor Moon Duchin from Tufts University heads up a research group which aims to make the voting system fairer by using geometry to redraw district boundaries. The civil rights advocate regularly appears as an expert in high profile legal cases involving gerrymandering and last year featured in the Netflix documentary A Trip to Infinity. She's in New Zealand to deliver a lecture at Auckland University, and joins Kathryn to explain how data science can be used to ensure a fairer system and bring about democratic reform.
