The 2020 Election: How Do You See It?

In showing the many ways to map the same data, I include the map styles most commonly used by news organizations: proportional symbol, choropleth, and cartograms (especially block cartograms). I also include other styles that news organizations rarely use. I use a desaturated color scheme in all of the maps to deactivate the intense emotions usually associated with presidential elections. Some of the maps are intentionally inauthentic (like the choropleth). Others force the reader to consider whether the "most accurate" map is one that displays how the electoral college votes, or how the population votes. Neither is wholly accurate or inaccurate, depending on perspective. Overall, these maps work to show that maps can tell a variety of stories with the same data. By using a subject that is familiar to most Americans, the concept is easy to convey.

These maps are a work in progress, as I hope to eventually have at least double this number for my senior thesis. I intend to research how some of these maps are viewed by the average person, and which styles are both the most memorable and most effective.