The Almanac

The Almanac of State Legislative Elections is the 5th volume in a series of award-winning books on U.S. state legislative government and demographics from iMapData. It has been praised for its state- and district-level data, insightful analyses and “stunningly rich graphics.”

The series showcases iMapData's ability to analyze political and demographic data at a granular level, derive meaning from complex data and quickly convey conclusions in intuitive visual formats.

Published in August 2007, The Almanac is the most elaborate and ambitious of the series. It provides a ground-level view of how the United States is changing – politically, racially, and demographically.

The authors analyzed more than 20,000 legislative elections, compiling an invaluable resource that contains the most election and demographic data by state district. The volume includes:

• Concise tables of election results for every state senate and house district from 2000-2006
• Extensive and up-to-date district-by-district demographic data
• Precise, multicolor maps showing the geographic boundaries of all 6,744 state legislative districts

The Almanac is further distinguished by original analyses that describe political trends, unique election processes and demographic changes.

One key finding with significant political implications is that the “metropolitan doughnut” - the circle of suburbs identified in previous volumes - continues to widen while the “doughnut hole” is filling in. To vastly simplify it, center-city core areas are coming back.

Also, for each state The Almanac includes an insightful essay based on analysis of the data. For example, the authors show that Utah’s dependency ratio (portions of the very young and the elderly) remains high and that Florida has become a megastate.

Campaign strategists, journalists, and planners as well as the general public will find these analyses both useful and thought provoking.