NEWTON, MA (USA) - A significantly upgraded version of Caliper’s Maptitude for Redistricting is now available. Maptitude for Redistricting 2021 is a specialized and powerful tool for political redistricting that enables state legislatures, political and public interest groups, local governments as well as motivated private citizens to create and advocate redistricting plans that meet their goals, adhere to legal requirements, and stand up to public scrutiny and legal challenges.
Unlike a general-purpose GIS, Maptitude for Redistricting streamlines the plan creation process for all types of political boundary definitions and provides all of the calculations and reports that redistricters want and need. It is the ideal tool for congressional redistricting as well as for all forms of local applications ranging from state legislative districts to city council and local school board districts.
As a user adjusts the boundaries of districts, Maptitude for Redistricting instantly reports and visualizes the consequences of these actions in terms of population balance and demographic and political composition. Districts can be drawn to consider numerous factors that could include race, communities of interest, majority-minority districts, political party registrations and voting outcomes, district compactness, and the location of incumbents’ residences. Compatibility with a wide array of data formats facilitates incorporation of both public and private data in the redistricting process.
As redistricters prepare for the start of this decade’s redistricting cycle with the imminent publication of the 2020 Census, they will have access to a host of cutting-edge features in Maptitude for Redistricting 2021 that are not found in any other software. The new tools include an improved Disaggregation-Aggregation Wizard, tools to specify majority-minority districts, new ensemble and majority-minority reports, a plan integrity tool that checks whether incumbents have been moved out of their districts, and extended capabilities for the communities-of-interest tool.
It can be a great challenge to deal with hundreds of plan alternatives, including those developed by the public. Maptitude for Redistricting also includes extensive tools for organizing and comparing alternative plans. Districts drawn in any manner can be evaluated for fairness in representation and the presence of racial and political gerrymanders.
Caliper has also developed a companion web tool, Maptitude for Online Redistricting, that is the ultimate solution for providing public access and participation in the redistricting process.
Designed with the help of redistricting professionals, Maptitude for Redistricting is easy to learn and use. It is used by a majority of state legislatures, both national political parties, independent commissions, many cities and counties, and numerous public interest groups.
For more information, please visit www.redistricting.com or contact Caliper (+1 617-527-4700; sales@caliper.com).
Maptitude for Redistricting is the professional tool for political redistricting. The ease-of-use, fitness-for-purpose, and competitive pricing of Maptitude for Redistricting have made Maptitude the dominant product for political redistricting. Maptitude provides measures and reports that support the creation of fair and balanced districts. Maptitude is constantly enhanced and provides modern tools for exploring redistricting problems. Maptitude was used to democratize redistricting in California and is used by the majority of redistricters, from independent commissions, non-profits, and civil rights groups, to the courts and political parties.
Caliper is a privately held corporation and is a leading developer of mapping, redistricting, transportation, and GIS software.