Precinct Maps Created From Voter Records

For a while, I have commented on the fact that the media will need better geographic detail to more closely examine the geography of politics and in particular the precincts that will sway the vote in an election. Word comes from Farallon Geographics that they were contracted by National Committee for an Effective Congress (NCEC) to "complete the first multi-state, spatially-enabled GIS election precinct data set that covered almost a dozen battleground states." The work entailed compiling over 20 million voter records supplied by the Democratic National Committee. I've asked Farallon to supply more details on how the records were processed to define these precincts because as the graphic at right shows, the raw data is in the form of point records. Oracle Spatial was used to process the point data. Of course the other issue is what this point data represents? Are these actual voters and if so, is there an issue with privacy of these records? So, will the media get these data? More details to follow.

UPDATE: Farallon Geographics contacted me today to say that "There is no mapping of name or personal information to location. Farallon did not have access to any personal data – just geocoded points with precinct information (not actual addresses)."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

USAToday Looks at Bleak Jobs Growth Outlook for 2010

The job outlook for 2010 doesn't look very rosy according to a map published by USAToday . Though the prospect for job growth will rebound in some areas, most states will continue to so slow or no growth. Hardest hit continue to be Florida, the upper Midwest, and Nevada. The bright spots include the corridor of Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington State where jobs in energy and technology are likely to be found. By metro area, look toward Huntville, Alabama, my current hometown, where jobs gowth is expected to be the highest in the country with a projected growth of 2.9%. This high tech mecca will see job growth due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and the supporting jobs that will move into the region.
Read more

Chinese Investments in Raw Materials Mapped by Forbes.com

Image
Forbes.com created a graduated symbol map (see thumbnail at right) of the investments that the Chinese have made in various raw material sectors such as energy, minerals, and transportation. The interactive map illustrates: the accelerated growth in the number of investments made over the past five years the size of each investment the industry sector Tool tips appear as you hover the cursor over each symbol that shows: the investor the amount of the investment when the investment was made the industry sector What is striking about the portrayal of the data is not the size so much as the rapidity with which the investments have been made over just the last two years. If you watch the animated sequence, you will see how many of the investments were accomplished just recently. The feeding frenzy for raw materials is what is driving infrastructure growth throughout the Mainland.
Read more

National Media Scrambles with Maps of Haiti

As the geospatial community rushes into support rescue efforts with as much detail as possible, the national media has produced a variety of different maps to help tell the story. Wall Street Journal - The WSJ has produced a series of three excellent, interactive maps : LATEST UPDATES: a thematic map of estimated damages by block and the locations of key places like the National Palace or the UN building as well as tent camps. BEFORE AND AFTER: a satellite image base with point locations of major structures where you can view photos of before and after shots. TECTONICS: A population map overlayed with a map of the Gonave microplate and the location of the earthquake with concentric zone showing quake intensity. USA Today - Map of earthquakes with more than 1000 deaths ; provides a bit of history of and the location of major crustal plates that gives the reader a lession in plate tectonics New York Times - Map showing magnitude of the disaster and details on t...
Read more