Campaign Legal Center Presents PlanScore.org, the Premiere Tool to Measure Gerrymandering

Date
Issues
Redistricting

Web Tool Empowers Americans to Demand Fair Maps During Map Drawing Cycle 

WASHINGTON – In preparation for the August 12 release of redistricting data by the U.S. Census Bureau to the states, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is relaunching PlanScore.org, an empowerment tool to measure voting maps and evaluate them for partisan impact. 

As the 2021 map drawing cycle heats up, PlanScore will collect and analyze new district plans as they are proposed in states nationwide. The free web tool is intended for map drawers to assist them in ensuring they are creating fair maps, and also for policymakers, advocates and journalists to hold map drawers accountable to fair districting standards.  

“The voting districts that will be finalized in the coming weeks will be cemented for the next 10 years. PlanScore.org empowers voters to hold map drawers accountable and demand fair maps during this critical map drawing year,” said Mark Gaber, director, redistricting at Campaign Legal Center (CLC). “Visitors to the website can score new district maps and assess whether the plans are gerrymandered. We are bringing the ability to measure partisan gerrymandering directly to the people and giving map drawers a tool to ensure that they draw fair maps.”  

The site contextualizes the gerrymandering taking place this cycle by allowing visitors to click on states and compare them to other states or previous maps from the same state. PlanScore.org presents the most comprehensive historical dataset of partisan gerrymandering ever assembled, going back to the 1970s, and includes all four main academic measures of gerrymandering.

To interview an expert for a redistricting story, email [email protected]. 

“Voting districts drawn this year will shape our lives and our communities for the next decade,” said Ruth Greenwood, director of the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, and a PlanScore founder. “But first, to understand the impact of gerrymandering on our voting maps, we need to be able to measure it. That is where PlanScore comes in. With the help of data from election experts around the country, we are expanding this free service to score and publish plans for all 50 states. This is a tool to help advocates hold map drawers accountable.” 

At Campaign Legal Center, we are advancing democracy through law. Learn more about our work.