About districks

Districks is a blog and information source focused solely on gerrymandering and redistricting. Born of a hunger for better coverage, this new data journalism project combines lucid visualizations and geographic storytelling to shed more light on these critical issues.

The founder, Blake Esselstyn, is an unaffiliated voter and redistricting consultant based in North Carolina, longtime hotbed of gerrymandering shenanigans. In addition to his studies at Yale and Penn, Blake has spent over two decades crunching geographic data, then synthesizing and communicating the stories they reveal.

Blake headshot

As the name 'districks' suggests, the site specifically aims to expose and illuminate the skulduggery of the current redistricting status quo. However, while recognizing the need for reform, districks seeks to steer clear of specific advocacy, hoping instead to better inform citizens and empower them to pursue change as they see fit.

For more about the blog, see the initial, introductory post.

Districks is an initiative of FrontWater, LLC.