Ungerrymander America
Make it so the lines don't matter
Gerrymandering is just the most obvious of many rigged systems
How to End Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering is the manipulation of voting district boundaries to give one political party an unfair advantage over another. This video and my book lay out how we can end it and build a fair, representative democracy.
Everything here comes from my book, Polemic for Democracy, published one week before the election in 2024. It makes the full case for ending gerrymandering and includes a fair, redrawn map for all 50 states, plus DC and Puerto Rico.
See Every State Ungerrymandered
Click on your state to see its new, fair map. These maps use multiwinner districts, meaning most districts will elect 3, 4, or 5 representatives to Congress. Read my methodology for drawing the lines on my blog here.
Swipe to explore the map →
The Bigger Picture
See all episodes →Ending gerrymandering was the entry point for the book, but gerrymandering is just one of the systems that needs fixing. The podcast connects it to the other systems shaping our lives: culture, economics, food, technology, education, politics, and more.
Touching Grass with Oskar Quentin
A conversation with TikTok political debate streamer Oskar Quentin. Watch the full episode on YouTube.
American Empire at 250
A solo episode reflecting on American empire at the country's 250th anniversary, and what this milestone means for the systems we are trying to change.
The Legislative Process
Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen joins the show to discuss the legislative process and what it looks like to work for change from within the system.
Challenging the Status Quo
Challenging the status quo is difficult, and I talk with a candidate making a case for moving to the left in Washington State.
Go Deeper on the Blog
See all posts →This is where the ideas get worked out in full. Subscribing to the blog is the best way to go deep and support the work.
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Meet the Mapmaker
Full about page →
Hi. My name is Zane Gustafson.
I wrote Polemic for Democracy, redrew the map for every state, and host the Ungerrymander America podcast. It's all one project across mediums, and fair maps are where it starts.
The goal of my work is to build a multiparty political system in America. A functional political system is what lets a society take on everything else: inequality, corruption, climate change, and bigotry amidst rapid technological change.
I live in Seattle and studied philosophy, political science, and public administration at the University of Washington. For work, I do writing and research about the energy transition and democracy reform.
This project runs on your support
Ungerrymander America is independent and ad-free. The book, the maps, and the podcast are all funded by readers and listeners. If this work is valuable to you, any contribution helps keep it going and makes a real difference.