Truer election maps of 1960-2016

In the 2016 election most of the country was evenly divided. But these better maps show how even it was. Compare 2016 with 2012 and earlier years.

Not all congressional districts have the same population size. It can range from 450,000 to 950,000 people per district. Adjusting the map to equalize area by population gives a truer picture. This is called a “cartogram.”

Source: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2012/

Compare with past elections. In 1968 three candidates split the electoral college (Nixon, Humphrey, and Wallace).

Kennedy’s election in 1960 was close. He carried the cities and key southern states like Texas, but lost in most rural districts.

Isn’t it interesting how much the map changes each term in the 1960s, before most states ran primaries? Since 2004, the electoral map seems to be quite stable.

Isn’t it interesting that over the past 50 years, certain congressional districts have always represented twice as many citizens as the smallest districts, which tend to be rural areas in the South and West?