I'm curious if anybody else has actual GIS (Geographic Information Systems) experience?
One of the things that have been bugging me is that all the plans that are being worked on by DKE/SSP'ers are based at the VTD (precinct) level. I would argue that in truth the VTDs are an out-and-out FICTION.
"voting district (VTD) - The generic name for a geographic entity - such as an election district, precinct, or ward - established by state, local, and tribal governments for the purpose of conducting elections. Some reviewing officials adjusted the boundaries of the voting districts (VTDs) they submitted to conform to census block boundaries for data presentation purposes, and therefore a VTD for which Census 2000 provides data might not exactly represent the legal entity; the U.S. Census Bureau refers to such VTDs as pseudo-voting districts (pseudo-VTDs). Such VTDs, as well as any territory for which state officials did not specify a status, are identified by a "P" in the VTD indicator field of the PL data file."
In California, and, I am inclined to believe, most other states. The geographic unit that is going to get (being) used to move population around between districts are census blocks. The chair of the redistricting commission said as much when it was stated that the commission's goal was to balance the congressional seats down to one person!