-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: mapping of the electorate]
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 23:13:22 GMT
From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>



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Oh, please, you do not want to see county-level cartograms.  No one
would ever recognize them.  You'd get a big blob of something -- but
almost no one would be able to identify it as a map of the USA.  You
might be able to pick out the boroughs of New York City, as well as Cook
County, IL and a gigantic Los Angeles County, CA on the Pacific, but
that's about it.  I think even state-level cartograms are hideous, but I
can usually figure out which polygon is which state, so I tolerate them.

This is not to say that population density/voter turnout is unimportant
-- I think I would use hue to indicate party preference, and maybe
saturation to indicate say, turnout or tabulation.

Joe McCollum
Knoxville, TN