One of the most common feature requests that I've received is to note key dates on the chart. Because of the density of information, I've been hesitant to do so, but today I realized how I can do it without adding too much clutter to the chart. The darker lines above represent key dates in the election. What actually happened on those dates is noted in the "Key Campaign Dates" box on the right. If anyone has other important dates that should be noted, please suggest them in the comments or email me at polljunkie {at} evstrength.com.
I'm still trying to figure out the best way to make the 50% line stand out more. If there are any Excel (or better yet, Open Office) experts out there who can give me some advice, email me at that same address. [Update: Fixed!]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Major uptweaks today! You seem to have mastered everything except how to provide candidate symmetry (it could be seen as Obama-centric).
I wonder if this could become the default graph at electoral-vote.com or at least get a permanent link or thumbnail image on the front page there. That is a fairly well-trafficked site and it would be good to get some synergy going. There is so much good data and writing there, but this is clearly better than the 2 total El-vote graphs and the page that has 50 different state graphs on it! Well, you _already_ link to there, so…
I'm not a big fan of the new significant date thing (too much information) but that's a subtle visual way to do it. I guess you can think of it as a layer of political volcanic/meteoric ash left in the geo(logical)-political record. The problem seems to be how to determine what constitutes a significant event, but it seems to me that the significant events are those that move the graph and thus are already self-evident. But if you're gonna, polling readers is a fittingly democratic way to do it.
I'm wondering how you worked out the %->538 problem and the dual axis labels. I looked for some OOo tutorials before on that topic and found nothing. I guess it's still stacked percent but you found the customization of the axis labels/units(?).
Although it seems like "cheating", it occurs to me that it would just take a minute to open the output graph in an image processing application and draw a line and paste in a scale or two.
Or, a slightly more elegant workaround (if the software doesn't let you do what you want) would be to create an image of what you want the left and right scale to look like (possibly the center 269 line, too) and use that as a background image with enough transparency in the graph to see it. The simple daily graph would drop on top of that background in the same way every day. I don't think that's the way you made it work, tho. I wouldn't mind a pointer to a tutorial if you found one or a short explanation (if explaining it doesn't take longer than actually doing it).
Thanks!
Thanks Blues.
I'm wondering how you worked out the %->538 problem and the dual axis labels.
To be honest, I have no idea. A reader sent me a chart that he had made in Excel that worked fine when I opened it in OO, but I spent probably two hours trying to replicate it without success. I'm not sure if it's my lack of knowledge or if OO doesn't support some feature that Excel has even though it properly displays that feature. Anyway, I was able to port the rest of the data in to Peter's spreadsheet and make it work.
It could be seen as Obama-centric.
I assume that you mean because of the numbering of the axes? I would love to make the left axes go from 0-538 and the right one go 538-0, but I have no clue how to do it. If the election was still months away, I might take the time to figure out a better solution. Unfortunately, I've got a lot on my plate right now, so people will just have to deal with the numbering system.
You're right in your comments about the dates. I like them, though I do agree that they clutter the chart a bit. But they are the second most requested feature, after the 50% line, so I'll go with it. They do help provide some useful context that the chart itself lacks, and that expanded context fits nicely with the purpose for the chart.
Thanks for the info. I still never found any decent tutorials online.
What you have is good, but I bet you will give it another tweak or two before election day. It may not be worth obsessing about at this late date but it would be nice to learn to control the appearance of Excel/OO calc charts.
There are a lot of hidden features and inscrutable mysteries in Excel and its open source analogues. I suppose the programmer got deeper into the xlm or whatever the underlying code is and built a more customized chart than we get from the wizard and limited options.
The numbers in the scale could be an inserted object or picture or may actually be text (like the dates). If they are alphanumeric *text*, it could optimally have a 0 at both ends and a 269 in the middle, or a 269 in the middle and run up to 538 at each end.
Check out the X axis on this probabilistic electoral vote outcomes bell curve:
http://www.270towin.com/simulation/visualizer.ph
Interesting use of both color and position.
OK, I was just killing time while checking to see about your new graph. 538 and electoral-vote.com have both been required regular daily reading together with a look at EVStrength, IEM, intrade, Pollster.com, Sam Wang, Rasmussen, and Gallup. Keep up the good work!
I would consider adding the Katie Couric Interview to Key Campaign Dates. Obviously this wasn't the first time Palin's understanding of the issues had come into question, but it was a major moment as far as weighing the VPs and it changed the tone of how the VP debate was talked about, both before and after the debate. I would also suggest that the fallout from that interview, along with the wall street meltdown, it seems to be in line with McCain's downward trend.
Oct 19
364 EVs at e-v.c
You'll enjoy waking up to that. Plateau my ass!
It's been a long time since the last Graphical Optimization
Suggestions:
1.
How about deleting Mar 22 and Mar 23 from the spreadsheet/chart so that the final numbered dates are Nov 1 and Nov 4, Election Day, instead of Nov 2 plus a couple of ticks? Nothing happened on the first 3 days, the race was immature, and nobody's looking at those dates anyway. Downside: your chart may render a few pixels wider or narrower and throw something else off but it's worth a try if you're a perfectionist.
2.
Are you going to include the final debate? Couric interview? I'm not a big fan of the dates, but they were mile/millstones of the campaign and there should be some rationale for including/excluding them.
-fwiw-
Good suggestions. I've been meaning to add the final debate, but I keep forgetting to. I can't really add the Couric debate, since there wasn't really a single date when it came out. It was released over a period of a week or more, so it's hard to note. Also the last several weeks are fairly cluttered already.
I love your suggestion about how to fix the end date. I was never happy with the old display, but I hadn't been able to figure out a solution... Never though it would be that easy.
Oh, and I still think his number has plateaued more or less, at least as far as the polling shows. Remember, because of the missing poll data, I never really felt that NC was tied.
Going forward, the numbers might fluctuate a bit, but barring major events I doubt that we'll much of a change between now and the election. Come election day is another matter entirely, since we really have no idea what turnout will be like, and it will be the deciding factor in all the states that are even marginally close.
Post a Comment