CfP Hack Night Special Edition: Use open source tools to end gerrymandering

Special thanks to Linode for hosting us this week!

This week's hack night will feature a special guest and topic: Draw the Lines PA Mapathon. If you're new to Code for Philly or are not currently working on a project, this is a great hack night for you to attend!

Special thanks to Draw the Lines for bringing the light refreshments will this week.

What is Draw the Lines PA?

We're a nonpartisan resource for Pennsylvanians who want to end gerrymandering and help democracy work better. We tell their stories, help them connect, provide ways to engage. We offer the digital tools needed to draw a valid election map. Why? To prove that our state's people — whether 14, 44 or 84 — are ready, willing and able to take on this key task of democracy. To slay the gerrymander, we’re running mapping competitions (with prizes of up to $5,000) through 2021.

What we'll be doing: Draw the Lines PA Mapathon

Mapathons are for already engaged audiences who want to learn how political mapping sometimes can go so wrong and how ordinary citizens can help it go much better. Test drive DistrictBuilder, our free mapping tool. Discuss the individual values and goals which go into creating their own maps. Get started on your map and enter the competition Hear more about the mapping competitions (prizes up to $5,000) from Draw the Lines' team.

Hack Night Schedule

• 6pm - doors open, light refreshments to fuel up
• 6:30pm - introduction presentation from the Draw the Lines team, introduction of District Builder the open source redistricting tool
• 7:15pm - Time to work on your own maps - Draw the Lines team there for support as needed
• 9pm - Doors close

Organizer Note: Code for Philly teams looking to work on existing projects are still welcome to attend.

-------
Are you interested in sponsoring a Code for Philly hack night? We're actively looking for organizations to provide space for our events! Email us at leadership@codeforphilly.org.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• What do I need to know before showing up?

Don’t forget your computer! Code for Philly does not provide any devices, so if you need your computer to work be sure to bring it with you.

This is a free form hack night designed to have the least distractions possible in order for projects to concentrate on hitting milestones. There won’t be any introductions or intro sessions. If you’re new to Code for Philly we recommend attending an Open House and/or Workshop night (https://codeforphilly.org/pages/hack_night_program_details/) and selecting a project before coming to hack night.

• Do I need to be a coder?

No! We need civic hackers of all varieties. Healthy civic tech projects have developers, designers, community partners, project managers/owners, and need lots of help. If you’re an experienced professional, we welcome you to contribute your expertise whatever it looks like.

As with all our events, we require attendees to follow our Code of Conduct (https://codeforphilly.org/pages/code_of_conduct/).