How does one best represent all the voting information that we now collect as a part of the electoral process? Here are a few websites that really stood out for me. Send me any more that you have and I can add them to the list.
The first is a series of cartograms (maps in which the sizes of states are rescaled according to their population) created by Mark Newman, Department of Physics and Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan. Wonderful stuff. Check it out at Maps of the 2008 US presidential election results
The NYTimes had some cool representations. Check out this one. In particular click on the “County bubbles” option on the left. NYTimes Maps
Google had a series of really nice maps (though I found them hard to reach when the actual results were being tabulated – a consequence of heavy internet traffic no doubt). What is nice in this one is that you can select a year to view presidential voting results since 1980. You can also click on a state to get more detailed statistics, including demographic breakdown. Check out Google’s election maps. There are also many more maps that you can access from this page – some worth checking out.
Thanks for posting- I sent this directly to a social studies teacher I have been working with on a problem-based unit regarding elections with the twist of voter apathy in America.
Though we had a much higher turnout, we still don’t value each vote the way other democracies do. I would love to see a national holiday on election day. What a celebration that could be! Now, I wonder who all might not want that level of access to the polls?
It is sort of sad to see my State (Missouri) as the long “lavendar” state. Looks like we are slipping right over time. Ick.
Sean