I don’t usually read the MIT Alumni Association web site. I was logging in today to check a friend’s address and saw this article on Range Voting. The Range Voting part is a little interesting, but the best part for me is the anti-Gerrymandering system.

I don’t think we need to overhaul our whole system. It’s just the combination of gerrymandering, TV ads, overemphasis of parties, a fixed-size house, and half a dozen other factors that make the current system broken. I advocate conservative, limited changes, tried on a state-by-state basis to find unexpected difficulties. Algorithmic districting is a fine approach. Massachusetts should try it.

I’m also curious about emergent districting approaches. What if any quarter-million people could declare themselves a district and select a congressman? I think you’d see much more direct allegiance to representation of a constituency. On the other hand, it would take major party-like organization to coordinate a quarter-million-man petition drive.