Campaigns, Elections, and Voting
From the website: "The Redistricting Game is designed to educate, engage, and empower citizens around the issue of political redistricting. Currently, the political system in most states allows the state legislators themselves to draw the lines. This system is subject to a wide range of abuses and manipulations that encourage incumbents to draw districts which protect their seats rather than risk an open contest.
By exploring how the system works, as well as how open it is to abuse, The Redistricting Game allows players to experience the realities of one of the most important (yet least understood) aspects of our political system. The game provides a basic introduction to the redistricting system, allows players to explore the ways in which abuses can undermine the system, and provides info about reform initiatives - including a playable version of the Tanner Reform bill to demonstrate the ways that the system might be made more consistent with tenets of good governance. Beyond playing the game, the web site includes a wealth of information about redistricting in every state as well as providing hands-on opportunities for civic engagement and political action."
Gerryminder Redistricting Simulation
Gerryminder, developed by Jeremy M. Teigen and Jeffrey A. Gilbertson, is a free, online redistricting simulation designed for undergraduates learning about congressional elections, representation, and gerrymandering. It uses real election data at the county level in Iowa. By putting students in a position to manipulate district lines themselves with a measure of "fairness," Gerryminder provides a non-boring, experiential way to teach redistricting.
Articles, Books, and Conference Papers
Abramson, Paul R., and Alon P. Kraitzman. 2014. "Using a Gaming Site to Teach Campaign Strategies in the 2012 US Presidential Election." PS: Political Science and Politics 47(2): 502-508. Abstract
Carpenter II, Dick M., and Joshua M. Dunn. 2018. "Simulated Complexity: A New Classroom Simulation to Teach about Campaign-Finance Laws." PS: Political Science and Politics 51(2): 445-449. Abstract
Caruson, Kiki. 2005. “So, You Want to Run for Elected Office? How to Engage Students in the Campaign Process without Leaving the Classroom.” PS: Political Science and Politics 38(2): 305-10. Abstract
Coffey, Daniel J., William J. Miller, and Derek Feuerstein. 2011. “Classroom as Reality: Demonstrating Campaign Effects through Live Simulation.” Journal of Political Science Education 7(1): 14-33. Abstract
Endersby, James W. and Kelly B. Shaw. 2009. “Strategic Voting in Plurality Elections: A Simulation of Duverger’s Law.” PS: Political Science & Politics 36(2): 239-244.
Kathlene, Lyn, and Judd Choate. 1999. “Running for Elected Office: A Ten-Week Political Campaign Simulation for Upper-Division Courses.” PS: Political Science and Politics 32(1): 69-76. Abstract
Mariani, Mark. 2007. “Connecting Students to Politics through a Multi-Class Campaign Simulation.” PS: Political Science and Politics 40(4): 789-94. Abstract
Miller, Peter, Steven Kimbrough, and Johanna Schacht. 2018. "Simulating Redistricting in the Classroom: A Binding Arbitration Decision Game Using Louisiana Census Data." PS: Political Science and Politics 51(3): 664-668. Abstract
Mitchell, Jocelyn Sage. 2019. "Virtual Integration in U.S. Senate Campaigns: An Active Learning Tool for Teaching American Government." Journal of Political Science Education 15(2): 206-217. Abstract
Pappas, Christine, and Charles Peaden. 2004. “Running for Your Grade: A Six-Week Senatorial Campaign Simulation.” PS: Political Science and Politics 37(4): 859-63. Abstract
Smith, Keith. 2012. “Why Just Two Parties? A Voting Game to Illustrate Duverger’s Law.” PS: Political Science 29(4): 759-764. Abstract
Tseng, Margaret. 2011. "Teaching Electoral Politics through Role Playing Simulations." Paper presented at the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference, Albuquerque, NM, February 11-13. Contact
