Latest Ulrich exhibit tackles political problem of Gerrymandering
.jpg "The Pennysylvania 7th Congressional voting district, in place from 2013-2018, was considered one of the nation’s most gerrymandered districts. The map has been described as cartoon character Goofy kicking Donald Duck. It’s on display at the Ulrich Museum of Art as part of an exhibit that focuses on gerrymandering.")
Gerrymandering — the controversial practice of redrawing voting districts for political gains — is on display in a current exhibit at the Ulrich Museum of Art on the Wichita State campus.
“Representation: Slaying the Gerrymander” is the spring installment of the Ulrich’s “Solving for X” exhibition series that highlights research being done at Wichita State. The gerrymandering exhibit, which runs through March 29, is based on political science assistant professor Brian Amos’ work on improving the way voting districts are drawn. His research focuses on using algorithms to help generate the districts.
Amos is also giving a free talk about his research and the exhibition at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Ulrich Museum.
So how can voter maps translate to an art form?
“The cool thing about working with mapping is the visuals make themselves,” Amos said.
In fact, gerrymandering got its unusual name when Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry helped create a partisan-driven voting district in 1812 that looked a bit like a salamander.
Voting districts can take on interesting, even comical shapes, like the much-publicized 2013-2018 district map in Pennsylvania that looked like the cartoon character Goofy kicking Donald Duck (until it was struck down as unconstitutional) and one in Texas that looks like an elephant spraying water.
Both of those district maps, along with two others, have been blown-up and put on display in the Ulrich’s first-floor Grafly Gallery. The exhibition also includes videos about each of those maps, along with a video of Amos talking about his research.
Sometimes odd-shaped districts aren’t the result of gerrymandering — even though the boundaries may seem to suggest otherwise, Amos said.
One of the displayed maps shows a district in Chicago that gets its wonky shape because it’s a racial protection district, created as a result of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Amos said. The act is credited with doing away with racial discrimination in the voting process and helping integrate American politics.
With 2020 being the year for another census, looking at voting districting is important, Amos said, and he hopes the exhibit will provide a civics lesson and awareness about that process.
According to 2020census.gov, the U.S. Constitution requires that adjustments in voting districts be made to account for population shifts. The U.S. census, done every 10 years, provides states with the population counts to redraw districts, if necessary.
Amos, who joined the WSU faculty last year, became interested in gerrymandering when he worked on the campaign for a Michigan candidate running for a U.S. House of Representatives seat in a district that had been gerrymandered.
He earned his graduate degrees studying the topic at the University of Florida. While in Florida, he served as a consultant for a lawsuit alleging the Florida Legislature had violated an amendment banning gerrymandering when it drew up the state’s congressional districts in 2012. The Florida Supreme Court eventually rejected the Legislature’s argument that it hadn’t gerrymandered the districts and accepted maps redrawn by a coalition that Amos had worked with.
‘Solving for X = Representation: Slaying the Gerrymander’
Where: Grafly Gallery, Ulrich Museum of Art, 1845 N. Fairmount, Wichita State University campus
When: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 1-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through March 29. The museum is closed Mondays and major and university holidays.
What: The spring installment of the Ulrich Museum’s “Solving for X” exhibition series that highlights research happening at WSU. Gerrymandering is the controversial practice of redrawing voter districts for political gains.
Cost: Free
More information: www.wichita.edu/museums/ulrich
Free talk: Brian Amos, WSU assistant professor of political science, will discuss his work on gerrymandering, drawing from his current “Solving for X” exhibit 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Ulrich Museum. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The free talk is co-sponsored by the Ulrich and the local League of Women Voters.