A teenager redrew the Alabama voting map – and it’s now state law

Daniel DiDonato, 18, drafted new state senate districts at home on free software - and a judge picked his map ahead of professionals' efforts to remedy voting rights violations

Earlier this month, after years of litigation, a federal judge in Alabama ordered a new state senate map. In a surprising decision, the map she chose wasn't one drafted by a court-appointed special master and his expert cartographer, but rather one that had been submitted by an anonymous member of the public, known only by their initials, DD".

The decision stunned DD" - an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Alabama named Daniel DiDonato - who learned his map had been selected as he was preparing to leave for his 9.30am introduction to political science class.