A Computer-Based System for Forming Efficient Election Districts

The Office of the Mayor of the City of New York, with the cooperation of the Board of Elections, has completed a pilot project that demonstrated that a computerized system for drawing election district lines would arrest the persistent decline in the efficiency with which voting machines are utilized, and could therefore be used to: (1) reduce voter delays at polling places; (2) equalize delays among election districts; (3) reduce the vulnerability of election districts to voting machine breakdowns; (4) reduce the cost of conducting elections by up to one million dollars annually; (5) permit convenient redistricting whenever required by changes in political boundaries, election laws, or population shifts; (6) facilitate analysis of voter registration. However, the value of this system is even broader than these points indicate. Its capability to manipulate geographic data is an important element of a generalized management information, mapping, and analysis system that the city is developing.