The Common Cause Reform Congressional Maps automatically load when you enter UMapNY. You can zoom in or zoom out using the zoom bar on the left of the mapping screen or the scroll wheel on your mouse. To move the map around, simply click and drag or use the direction circle in the upper left of the mapping screen.
Once inside UMapNY, you can explore and compare the Common Cause Reform Map with the current districts and the new Albany drafts, which will be added to the site as soon as they become available.
You can switch back and forth between the Common Cause Reform Plan and the current districts for each level of government using the window on the left. You can do this by clicking the boxes for “Existing Map” or “Common Cause Reform Map.” Reform maps for three county legislatures, Suffolk, Nassau, and Westchester, are also available. County maps were drawn by the Center for Research, Regional Education, and Outreach at SUNY New Paltz.
To get a closer look at a plan, click on the “District View” tab on the left side panel. “District View” brings up a list on the left side panel of each district and its total population and deviation from the ideal population size.
On the right side panel, you can see detailed demographic and political statistics for each district that display in the window on the right of the screen. There’s a full breakdown of race and ethnicity statistics, as well as information on how the selected district voted in the 2008 Presidential election, and 2010 state legislative elections. Click on the button next to each district number to see the statistics for that district.
You can also directly compare individual districts to the current lines using the overlay tool included on the upper toolbar. The Common Cause Reform district appears in green, with the old district in purple.
The site also allows you to view demographic information graphically by selecting “Color by Population” on the upper toolbar. You can also choose to view town and city lines by clicking this button on the top toolbar, which the plans often follow closely, and switch between the road map view and a satellite view.
But the most exciting feature of UMapNY is the ability to draw your own districts. To start drawing, simply select “Draw Your Own Map” on the left side panel. For each level of government, you can start a plan from scratch, or use the Common Cause Reform maps as a template.
Once you’ve selected Draw Your Own Map, switch to the “District View” tab, also on the left side panel, and select the “Edit” checkbox. Then select the District you’d like to edit from the list and click the “Change Districts” button. When “Change Districts” is selected, your mouse will become a redrawing tool. Simply click the area of the map that you’d like to reassign to the chosen district, or hold down the mouse button and sweep across the map to change a large area.
Let’s say I live in New Paltz and I think my community is a better fit with District 18 rather than District 19. I can reassign the New Paltz area to District 18. But look, since the population has changed, District 19 is now too small and District 18 is too large. I will need to reassign other areas to balance out the populations.
At any point during the drawing process, the bar on the right hand side of the screen will tell me the demographics and voting patterns of the district I’m working on and update in real time.
If you’re happy with the changes you’ve made, you can save your progress directly to Newsday Server or your own computer and send it to us at Common Cause New York. We’re looking forward to your input. You can also send it to the State Legislature or the Governor, an activist group, or your friends.
If you’d like to bring your plan the next round of public hearings on redistricting, you can export the data by clicking File – Save CD Data as CSV. This will create an excel spreadsheet of your plans statistics. You can also make JPEG map images by using the “Area Views” tool on the upper toolbar. Position the map where you want it, and click “Save View JPG” to create a printable Map.
Thanks for your interest in U Map NY. Feel free to contact by email at nyoffice@commoncause.org if you have any further questions about the software.
You can also see a video with screenshots following these instructions by clicking here
