A Gedankenexperiment in districting

The US state of Absurdia has 1 million voters and comprises 5 US Congressional Districts.

The state government is in course of settling district lines for the US Congress, the state senate, and the state chamber of deputies.

Two plans are under consideration under which the districts of each type will contain, as nearly as mathematically possible, equal numbers of voters (in thousands).

Under both plans, each US Congressional district will be subdivided into 10 state senatorial districts, each in turn divided into 10 state house districts.

Both plans are such that all state senate and chamber districts preserve the ratios of party representation among voters that would exist, under that plan, in the US Congressional Districts within which they are located.

There are two political parties that together encompass all the voters of Absurdia, the Blues and the Greens.

475 thousand of the state's voters are Blues.

525 thousand are Greens.

The two plans under consideration were prepared by the two parties, one being the Blue Plan and the other the Green Plan.

The Blue Plan draws lines so that voters, by party, are located in the US Congressional Districts as follows (in thousands).

Districts

                                  1                      2                    3                      4                   5

Green Voters           200                   81                  81                    81                 82

Blue Voters                0                    119                119                  119                118

Results of this plan, assuming straight party ticket voting.

In the US senate, the Blues would have no seats and the Greens 2.

In the federal Congress, the Blues would have 4 seats and the Greens would have 1.

In the Electoral College, the Blues would have 0 Electors and the Greens 7 or, under the Maine rule, the Blues would have 4 Electors and the Greens 3.

In the state senate, the Blues would have 40 seats and the Greens would have 10.

In the state chamber, the Blues 400 seats and the Greens would have 100.

The Green Plan, as follows, is quite otherwise.

Districts

                                  1                      2                    3                      4                   5

Green Voters           105                   105                105                105                105

Blue Voters               95                    95                   95                  95                  95

Results of this plan, assuming straight party ticket voting.

In the US senate, the Blues would have 0 seats and the Greens 2.

In the federal Congress, the Blues would have 0 seats and the Greens would have 5.

In the Electoral College, the Blues would have 0 Electors and the Greens 7 or, under the Maine rule, the Blues would have 0 Electors and the Greens 7.

In the state senate, the Blues would have 0 seats and the Greens would have 50.

In the state chamber, the Blues would have 0 seats and the Greens would have 500.

One might want to sneak in some sort of proportional representation.

Note that the US Constitution does not require that representatives in the House be chosen by districts.

They could, like federal senators, be chosen in state-wide elections, under such rules that seats would be awarded to parties proportionate to their statewide votes, as nearly as mathematically possible.

In that event, there would be no US Congressional Districts in Absurdia, and its US House Delegation would comprise 2 Blues (47.5% of voters) and 3 Greens (52.5%).

If US senate seats were also allotted proportionately, both senators in each state running always in the same year, then in Absurdia each party would have one seat.