In today’s modern age, understand who votes what way is something that people take very seriously. Perhaps even more important is the history of voting in certain areas. How states and counties voted in the past plays as an indicator to their current situations, and how they vote in modern times. It also allows a glimpse into how much certain areas of the country have changed and adapted over time culturally.
The Database for “Electing the President” accomplishes this. Using maps from Presidential elections dating back from 1840 to the most recent election in 2020, this database uses maps from both the popular vote and the electoral college to depict the nation’s voting habits over the course of nearly 200 years. It’s purpose and use, as described by co-creator Robert K. Nelson, is to “help users deepen their understanding of the complex factors that have shaped presidential elections over the last two centuries.”
The design of the project is very efficient. Using various tools, ranging from the maps themselves, to bubbles indicating one party’s strength in a certain area over another, the database makes information very easy to find and use. It helps reaching the audience for the database: the average American voter. This database, according to Nelson, should be used to “help contribute to the ongoing conversation about the history of American democracy.” That is to say, that this database should be used by every American that can get their hands on it, to better understand the how and the why regarding voting and elections throughout American History.
The technology used to build it came from a previous database, entitled Voting America. It served a similar purpose and Robert Nelson was the creator of this database. He created it using an ArcGIS suite of digital cartography tools, and adapted it to add on more information as time went on. Adobe was also used to help formulate maps on the original database.
This database was created in the Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond, with Robert Nelson as its spearhead. Other creators included Riley Champine, Chad Devers, and Nathaniel Ayers. The project was funded by the University of Richmond. Overall, it is an extremely beneficial database, and should be used at every opportunity available.
Bibliography
Nelson, Robert K., et al. “Electing the President, 1840-2020.” Edited by Robert K. Nelson and Edward L. Ayers. American Panorama: An Atlas of United States History
, 2024. https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/electingthepresident.
“Voting America.” Voting America: United States Politics, 1840 – 2008. Accessed August 27, 2024. https://dsl.richmond.edu/voting/index.html.
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