DeLuca, KevinPalmer, MaxwellSchneer, Benjamin2026-06-182024Palmer, Maxwell, Benjamin Schneer, and Kevin DeLuca. "A Partisan Solution to Partisan Gerrymandering: The Define-Combine Procedure." Political Analysis 32, no. 3 (2024): 295-310. https://doi.org/10.1017/pan.2023.39.1047-1987https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/42741558Redistricting reformers have proposed many solutions to the problem of partisan gerrymandering, but they all require either bipartisan consensus or the agreement of both parties on the legitimacy of a neutral third party to resolve disputes. In this paper, we propose a new method for drawing district maps, the Define-Combine Procedure, that substantially reduces partisan gerrymandering without requiring a neutral third party or bipartisan agreement. One party defines a map of 2N equal-population contiguous districts. Then the second party combines pairs of contiguous districts to create the final map of N districts. Using real-world geographic and electoral data, we employ simulations and map-drawing algorithms to show that this procedure dramatically reduces the advantage conferred to the party controlling the redistricting process and leads to less-biased maps without requiring cooperation or non-partisan actors.Article10.1017/pan.2023.39