Election Transparency, Part #1: Introducing the Data

Data for Democracy is a group of data-centric designers, programmers, and storytellers. We are a collection of clever, curious individuals from around the world. One of our first projects that was organized and started was in the arena of election transparency.

The United States Presidential Election of 2016 was a unique experience, and its outcomes were surprising to many Americans. We all have questions about what happened. In order to answer those questions, we have worked to consolidate all election data in one location that is easily accessible and available to the masses. We want you to know that the data is available.

Since we started the project three months ago, we have grown to more than 200 people. We have launched into conducting analysis, and more data is continuously being collected and added to data.world. We are working on projects around redistricting and voter accessibility. We are starting to seek answers to questions surrounding the presidential election, such as:

• What happened to Clinton in the Rust Belt?
• How close was Donald Trump to winning Virginia?
• What counties did Hillary Clinton win that Obama didn’t in 2012?
• What counties did Donald Trump win that were previously won by Obama?
• How many counties could have swung the elections?

Those stories are being written and will be shared in the coming weeks.

Most importantly, we have a team who is willing to work with the individuals who are already asking these types of questions. If you find something interesting, awesome! Join us on Slack and jump in the conversation. Take time to check out our website. We are diverse in regards to our politics, gender, ethnicity, nationality, etc. and would value your voice and contribution as we continue to attempt to make sense of the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of the 2016 election, the Electoral College, and the election system in general.

This is the first installment in a series spotlighting D4D’s Election Transparency project. Check back in the coming weeks for more details on Election Transparency’s work and findings!