States Stretched and Shrunk

Alright...everyone knows red refers to Republican and blue means Democrat. Pre-election America was flooded with maps and charts predicting the presidential results by state. At some points in the campaigning process I suffered from information overload. All I needed was a straightforward image to cut to the chase.

These maps analyze the election outcome through various perspectives and encourage Americans to look further then our electoral college system.

The first map is initially very deceiving and shows that Senator John McCain should have won the election. But, it doesn't incorporate the population distribution throughout the United States. Population distribution is a vital component of our voting system. Although the map is dominated by red states (Republican voters) in the south and mid-west, it isn't an accurate reflection of Obama's victory.

Blue prevailed in California, New York, and Ohio with a total of 106 electoral votes. These states went to Senator Barrack Obama.

The second map is altered and the size of the states are changed to reflect their population. This new image of the United States uniquely displays where people live. Notice how California is much larger and the northeast is substantially inflated as well. Most Americans have a basic understanding of how the electoral college works, but an altered map image presents a great deal of information quite simply.