Related papers: Gerrymandering Planar Graphs
We initiate the study of a fundamental combinatorial problem: Given a capacitated graph $G=(V,E)$, find a shortest walk ("route") from a source $s\in V$ to a destination $t\in V$ that includes all vertices specified by a set…
Partitioning the vertices of a graph into two roughly equal parts while minimizing the number of edges crossing the cut is a fundamental problem (called Balanced Separator) that arises in many settings. For this problem, and variants such…
Path cover is a well-known intractable problem that finds a minimum number of vertex disjoint paths in a given graph to cover all the vertices. We show that a variant, where the objective function is not the number of paths but the number…
We study the NP-hard Fair Connected Districting problem recently proposed by Stoica et al. [AAMAS 2020]: Partition a vertex-colored graph into k connected components (subsequently referred to as districts) so that in every district the most…
Graph alignment aims at finding the vertex correspondence between two correlated graphs, a task that frequently occurs in graph mining applications such as social network analysis. Attributed graph alignment is a variant of graph alignment,…
We introduce a graph partitioning problem motivated by computational topology and propose two algorithms that produce approximate solutions. Specifically, given a weighted, undirected graph $G$ and a positive integer $k$, we desire to find…
This paper presents a new anytime algorithm for the marginal MAP problem in graphical models. The algorithm is described in detail, its complexity and convergence rate are studied, and relations to previous theoretical results for the…
We show that the number of $k$-matching in a given undirected graph $G$ is equal to the number of perfect matching of the corresponding graph $G_k$ on an even number of vertices divided by a suitable factor. If $G$ is bipartite then one can…
Redistricting is the problem of partitioning a set of geographical units into a fixed number of districts, subject to a list of often-vague rules and priorities. In recent years, the use of randomized methods to sample from the vast space…
We study the design of fixed-parameter algorithms for problems already known to be solvable in polynomial time. The main motivation is to get more efficient algorithms for problems with unattractive polynomial running times. Here, we focus…
The past decade has amply demonstrated the remarkable functionality that can be realized by learning complex input/output relationships. Algorithmically, one of the most important and opaque relationships is that between a problem's…
Motivated by recent computational models for redistricting and detection of gerrymandering, we study the following problem on graph partitions. Given a graph $G$ and an integer $k\geq 1$, a $k$-district map of $G$ is a partition of $V(G)$…
Packing disjoint subgraphs in a given graph is a fundamental problem with many applications. Motivated by political districting, we focus on connected subgraphs that are compact (e.g., having constant radius from a single center vertex) and…
As granular data about elections and voters become available, redistricting simulation methods are playing an increasingly important role when legislatures adopt redistricting plans and courts determine their legality. These simulation…
Every representative democracy must specify a mechanism under which voters choose their representatives. The most common mechanism in the United States -- Winner takes all single-member districts -- both enables substantial partisan…
Combining the techniques of approximation algorithms and parameterized complexity has long been considered a promising research area, but relatively few results are currently known. In this paper we study the parameterized approximability…
Algorithmic and statistical approaches to congressional redistricting are becoming increasingly valuable tools in courts and redistricting commissions for quantifying gerrymandering in the United States. While there is existing literature…
We consider an incremental variant of the rooted prize-collecting Steiner-tree problem with a growing budget constraint. While no incremental solution exists that simultaneously approximates the optimum for all budgets, we show that a…
When auditing a redistricting plan, a persuasive method is to compare the plan with an ensemble of neutrally drawn redistricting plans. Ensembles are generated via algorithms that sample distributions on balanced graph partitions. To audit…
We consider the {\em Capacitated Domination} problem, which models a service-requirement assignment scenario and is also a generalization of the well-known {\em Dominating Set} problem. In this problem, given a graph with three parameters…