A Better Election Map

Since this is Election Day, I thought I would find something on election maps and cartography. I found this article from the New York Times. Politics aside, they do show how you can make a better election map using cartographic and color techniques. Check it out!

Also check out this interesting historical map at the Library of Congress on Presidential Elections from Washington (1789) up to Hayes (1876). Some of the history of the elections on the map are very interesting:

“Disputes arising in February, over the votes of South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Oregon, they were referred to, and decided by a Commission appointed for that purpose.”

“The votes of Arkansas and Louisiana were not counted in February, on account of irregularities.”

“Objections made to Wisconsin’s vote in February, were overruled by the Vice-President.”

Click below to see the map in detail.

The Seeger Map Company Closing

The Seeger Map Company in Wisconsin will be closing the business by the end of 2020. The first Seeger maps were those drawn for motel guests on scraps of paper in the late 1960s. Eventually, the company would distribute 2 million maps a year, including AAA maps, and employ 27 people in their Racine, Wisconsin offices. Click below to read more about it.

You can still order maps and atlases from their website here.

ArcGIS Survey123 Enhancements

If you use Survey123 in your organization, a new update is now available. With this release, Survey123 Connect and the Survey123 web designer will help you create more powerful forms, including ranking questions, choice randomization, and choice filters. You will also be able to more easily create Survey123 report templates. Click below for more info.

Interesting Voter Map

I found this one to be pretty interesting. It is an interactive map from Collin County, Texas. During early voting right now, voters can vote at any polling location. The GIS team there takes daily voter roster counts and displays a spider diagram for each voting center (when you click on one), showing you where voters are traveling from to each voting center. Statistics like voters by time of day and date are also displayed to the right. You can also change what voting days you want to look at. Pretty cool!

Outside Demo of Wingtra Drone

Looking to get outside for a few hours? Join us at a large area to social distance and watch Wingtra demonstrate the fixed wing vertical takeoff mapping drone starting at 10am Thursday October 15th above the San Antonio Dam, just 5 minutes from the Baseline offramp to the 210 freeway. Masks required.

Here is the 3 meter square location: https://what3words.com/unplanned.kings.nationals

And also let us know here so we can give any last minute updates if necessary: https://tinyurl.com/y48assbf

Hope to see you there!

Prof Warren Roberts
Rio Hondo College