I think 'geographic sorting' is just a way to blame urban lack of representation on people moving to cities and a way to defend Republican congressional dominance.
A 2015 study showed: Hyperbolic claims of a “sorted” country aside, geographic polarization in the United States is limited at best. Partisan polarization could be a real and consequential phenomenon in the electorate, but it has little geographic, “red versus blue” manifestation.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...111/ssqu.12202
A 2016 study found /no evidence/ of partisan sorting
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/do...10.1086/687569
Oh and here's another good one:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/201...n-realignment/
What we're actually seeing with so-called 'geographic sorting' is the last realignment of the solid south, stronger extremes driven by the nationalization of local political races.
The argument over 'geographic sorting' is just a backwards looking idea from a flawed place that seeks to blame people living in cities for living in cities for their lack of representation and demand unrealistic fixes telling people to move to places where there are no jobs so they can have a political voice. It's an absurd argument, Mets, designed only to explain why 'urban Democrats' have so many 'wasted votes', instead of ACTUALLY ADDRESSING THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM, such as the House being frozen at 435 and the way districts are drawn, and yes, frigging gerrymandering.
It could just be, and bear with me here, that the increasingly openly racist and sexist party you support has little in common with people living in a cosmopolitan center and that people who DO move there tend to become *less* racist and sexist.
But hey, I didn't actually /want/ to have this discussion because anytime anyone brings up gerrymandering, you're quick to defensively post about 'geographic sorting', which is and will always remain political class hyperbolic bullshit as a way to explain 'just how things are' and how we're 'totally helpless to do anything about it' except demand completely unrealistic fixes: the bulk of which conveniently fall on Dem voters.