# Utility Ghost: Gamified redistricting with partisan symmetry

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.07377 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.07377/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 14 Dec 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Agentmandering: A Game-Theoretic Framework for Fair Redistricting via Large Language Model Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.04076/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Inspired by the word game Ghost, we propose a new protocol for bipartisan redistricting in which partisan players take turns assigning precincts to districts. We prove that in an idealized setting, if both parties have the same number votes, then under optimal play in our protocol, both parties win the same number of seats. We also evaluate our protocol in more realistic settings that show how our game nearly eliminates the first-player advantage exhibited in other redistricting protocols.