57. A cartography lesson

Today was the November vote. Good wins for Democrats in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia—and California, where we voted on a redistricting proposal designed not specifically to give more districts to Democrats, but to combat Texas's recent legislative coup that gave more districts to Republicans. (In other words, yes, we did want to create more Dem districts, but only because Texas legislators simply decided, "on behalf of" their constituents, that there should be more Republican districts. Yeah. As if that's how democracy works. We wanted to show them how it really does.)

Anyway, the New York Times posted a delightful livestream map as the vote unfolded. Actually, in the case of California's Prop 50, the "Election Rigging Response Act," it was two maps—which gave me the opportunity to dredge up some of my cartographic knowledge (I do have a master's degree in mapmaking, after all) and give a little lesson on FB. Which I hereby transpose here:

Look at the left-hand map: you might think the orange won! Or at least got pretty close. Yeah, no. That map is a "chloropleth" map, which colors in entire (usually political) districts—states, counties, etc.—to represent, in this case, "vote share" (color representing which side won, with relative popularity in a shade from light to dark). The right-hand map is a graduated circle map, which here is still based on counties, but it's showing both vote share (in color) AND total number of votes in circle size (rather than stinking area). Different, yeah? (I mean: just look at the state's northeast!) The right-hand map much better depicts tonight's election results, which ended up being something like (votes are still being counted) 65% YES on prop 50, 35% no.

And I concluded with "Repeat after me: down with choropleth maps!"

And especially: "Don't poke the bear!

Today's vote is heartening, for sure—the races weren't even close. But they were all in blue/purple states. The red expanse of this country may just get their scrappy fighting spirit up. Even if nothing that this administration does helps them one bit. They are Republicans, and their emotions tell them to keep wallowing around in that vast ooze of red. 

Yet, what kind of map is that? (Just to be clear: the 2014 election, which this map supposedly represents, was basically 50:50.) Is there, perhaps, a different reality to be had?