HOW TO GERRYMANDER - A FORMAL ANALYSIS

The paper combines the optimal gerrymandering approach in political sc ience with the ''fair cake division'' results in mathematics and econo mics to consider optimal partisan gerrymandering schemes on a given te rritory. We analyze existence and properties of an optimal districting map for a strategic party that has control over redistricting process , given arbitrary continuous distributions of voters and party support ers over the electoral territory. Interestingly, we find that impositi on of certain equality-type constraints on districting might often hel p to prevent gerrymandering and sustain fairness.