Voter Registration Analysis and Mapping GIS
Executive Summary
Problem: States are mandated to implement voter outreach programs to increase registration in underrepresented demographic areas. But blanketing whole precincts with voter outreach is costly.
Solution: Use a GIS to perform easy-to-understand visual voter registration analyses that compare areas of low, medium, and high voter registration with Census demographic information. In just a few minutes target the visible problem areas.
The growing emphasis on inclusion and increasing voter turnout
States require that County's Elections Departments implement and monitor a countywide voter outreach program with the goal of increasing voter registration in underrepresented areas of the County.
Not registering and not voting are known to associate strongly with certain characteristics like race, ethnicity, age, income/poverty, and education. Consequently the challenge of any outreach program is to efficiently reach out to the underrepresented voting populations with language appropriate voter registration materials and culturally trained personnel.
It is not difficult to locate neighborhoods of predominantly African-American, Latino, Asian, Native American or low-income earners for get-out-the-vote drives. But reminding people to vote whom habitually turnout on Election Day is a waste of scarce resources. So the goal of a voter registration GIS is to identify areas that have high population numbers of these communities but low voter registration.
A Farallon voter registration GIS changes the way a County mobilizes get-out-the-vote initiatives
Using a combination of census demographic data and registered voter files, a Farallon GIS precisely locates the concentrations of infrequent or occasional voters who constitute the bulk of the non-voting electorate from historically under-represented ethinic populations.
The core strength of GIS is its ability to simplify and clarify large databases by rendering them into easily understood thematic maps. These can be used for policy and budget decisions such as creating language appropriate materials. Or they can be used by government workers or volunteers, regardless of educational attainment to mobilize civic participation.
This GIS solution offers government level a powerful and flexible tool to perform a broad array of public education, voter contact and/or community organizing and mobilizing tasks with unparalleled effectiveness, precision and economy.
Extensions to Political Campaigning and Redistricting
Growing communities, new developments, and populations continuously moving into and out of areas translate to fluctuating voter counts by precinct. Maintaining balance in the voting process means realigning districts and ensuring equity before each vote.