Dot Density Data Visualization

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

The 2020 election cycle was the first series of countywide elections in which Maricopa County implemented a Vote Center election model. The second largest voting jurisdiction in the United States, Maricopa County has over 2.6 million registered voters, spans rural, suburban and urban areas including multiple Native American tribal lands, and is geographically larger than seven states. Population density, geographic size, and differing demographic regions create challenges when providing voters with easily accessible in-person voting options, even before the advent of a global pandemic which created unprecedented challenges for election administrators across the country. To support the Elections Department, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department created a series of dot density maps that displayed concentrations of the current voting population and the patterns where voters physically cast their ballots in recent elections. The analysis by GIS experts provided the County Elections Department with accurate recommendations for placing Vote Centers that were based on geographic areas with historically high rates of in-person voting. The analysis successfully ensured there were sufficient voting locations to meet voter demand with minimal wait-times, while also allowing voters the ability to physically distance to accommodate the recommended County Public Health COVID-19 precautions.