Maptitude for Precinct and Election Management

Maptitude P&E Overview

Maptitude for Precinct and Election Management (Maptitude P&E) combines sophisticated software, an easy-to-use interface, and a wide array of customized data to create a complete precinct and election management solution for county and state election offices. Use it alone or in conjunction with your county and statewide voter registration (VR) software.

Reprecincting and Redistricting
Maptitude P&E contains a variety of tools for modifying precinct boundaries. As you select geographic areas (such as census blocks), the software computes the number of registered voters being added to the precinct, along with any other summary fields you have identified. You can automatically create a list of registered voters and street segments where the precinct has changed. (See below for more information on redistricting features.)  

Create Precinct Maps, Map Books, and Reports
The Precinct Map dialog box makes it easy to zoom to any precinct, query information about it, print a map, and print a legal description (metes and bounds report). Create a complete precinct map book using predefined templates. Design and print Precinct-Voter reports that list the number of voters per precinct and any other attributes you wish to include.

Update Your VR Street Index File in Minutes
Once you have defined your new precinct boundaries, Maptitude P&E can automatically update the street index file required by your voter registration software. You can combine odd and even ranges, account for precinct splits, and print a sorted report.

Enhance Voter Files and Correct Errors
Maptitude P&E can open and enhance voter files from your VR software. Sophisticated geocoding tools result in a very high match rate. Addresses that don't geocode can be "pinned in" using the mouse. The geocoder automatically adds the precinct code and codes for any other layers requested by the user (e.g. census blocks, districts, and ballot styles). Compare the results from Maptitude with data already in the VR file to identify errors. Once all voters have been geocoded, you can update voter and party counts in the block, precinct, district, and ballot style layers, and any other geographic layers you choose. Since this information is added to the original voter file, it is immediately available to the VR software.

Precinct Splits
Maptitude P&E intersects the precinct layer with all relevant district layers (e.g. congressional districts, state legislative districts, county commission districts, school board districts, etc.) to create a layer made up of precinct pieces or splits within which all districts are unique. Each precinct split includes the number of voters and voters by party.

Unique Ballot Styles
Create a geographic layer of unique ballot styles based on any combination of other layers (e.g., congressional districts, state legislative districts, county commission districts, school board districts, etc.). Create a map for each ballot style or a map book for all styles. Print ballot style reports sorted by precinct, ballot style, district IDs, or number of voters in each style. Create Street Index/Ballot Style reports and files.

Consolidated Precincts
Create a consolidated precincts layer that combines precincts that have a common polling place for a particular election. Each consolidated precinct lists the number of voters, voters by party, and any other summary fields you choose such as language and ethnicity. The consolidated precincts report lists the address and phone number of the polling place as well as the precincts that vote there.

Update Streets and Other Geographic Features
Maptitude P&E features full geographic editing. Add, remove, and realign streets, correct street names, address ranges and ZIP codes, split census blocks, add invisible features that define precinct boundaries, and make any other changes to the underlying geographic layers that are required.

P&E Settings Dialog Box
The P&E Settings dialog box lets you customize the way Maptitude P&E works. Use it to identify the precinct map, reprecincting plan, street file, voter file and settings for geocoding, ballot style layers, layouts for precinct and ballot style map books, and other relevant settings.

Built on Maptitude Technology
Maptitude is a full-featured Geographic Information System that has set new standards for performance and value. It provides a complete set of desktop mapping and spatial analysis functions. All Maptitude features are incorporated into Maptitude P&E. You also receive the standard Maptitude nationwide geographic data sets including streets with address information, and states, counties, census tracts, and other census boundaries with hundreds of demographic variables. Features include:

Easy to Learn and Use
Maptitude P&E includes on-line help and detailed manuals packed with step-by-step instructions and tutorials. Each task has a well-designed dialog box that provides access to all related functions. Wizards help you create maps, display data using meaningful themes, geocode information based on street address, and create precinct and redistricting plans. Caliper Corporation offers hands-on training at your site or at our training facility in Newton, MA.

Works with Most Voter Registration and GIS Software
Maptitude P&E opens voter registration files from most VR software, either directly or using Microsoft Windows ODBC (Open Database Connectivity). The program creates street index files in several formats suitable for import into most VR software. Map ArcView Shape, MapInfo Tab, and Oracle Spatial files without conversion. Export precinct boundaries and redistricting plans (geography and data) to these other formats for use with other GIS software.

Publish Your Precinct Maps and Information on the Internet
Maptitude P&E lets you save your maps, data tables, charts, layouts, and reports as JPEG, PNG, and HTML files for static Web publishing. Caliper Corporation's Maptitude for the Web™ Software makes it easy to publish your maps as interactive mapping applications on the Web. For example, users can locate their address on the map, pan and zoom, display precinct information, and locate their polling place using a browser.

Other Precinct and Election Management and Redistricting Services
Caliper provides consulting services, training, software customization, geocoding, data manipulation, web design, telephone support, and on-site support.

Customized Precinct and Election Management Data
Maptitude P&E includes data customized for your jurisdiction with the following geographic data:

Redistricting Features

Maptitude P&E contains all of the features found in Maptitude for Redistricting:

• Create a new plan from a map, a template, or an existing plan. Include multiple levels of geography, designate the control field, ideal value, and summary fields, and set other plan properties including plan type, creation date, and password protection.
• Include registered voters, population and race, and political data in the same plan; one button toggle between field sets lets you display only the data you want.
• Add areas to a target district using feature selection tools. Select by pointing, by dragging a circle, by defining the corners of a polygon (lassoing), and by attribute values. Select features in any geographic layer, such as census blocks, voting districts, towns, or school districts. As you add areas to a district, both the district boundaries and data table are updated to reflect changes in the current plan.
• Display attributes for any layer using labels or color, pattern, dot-density, scaled-symbol or chart themes. Since the district boundaries are instantly updated, you do not have to use a color theme to show district boundaries. Display summary information in a table that contains the district identifier, control field totals, deviation from the ideal value, and the totals and percentages for summary fields.
• Lock districts, and keep communities of interest together.
• Compute measures of compactness, and check for completeness and contiguity. Zoom to unassigned polygons or discontiguous portions of a precinct or district. Verify the integrity of a plan.
• Export a plan to standard equivalency file formats that can be read by other redistricting software and the Department of Justice. Import and merge plans created by Maptitude for Redistricting or other redistricting software.
• Capture the current status of a plan as a snapshot. Each plan can have one or more snapshots organized by date and time under the same plan name. Return to any snapshot, and use it as a departure point in the evolution of the plan or as the starting point for a new plan.
• Print a completed plan using page layouts that combine maps, data tables, and charts. The standard report library includes population summary, error check, political subdivision splits, incumbents, plan statistics, plan components (bill language), plan comparison reports, metes and bounds, and more. Create custom reports and add them to the report menu.

Read a case study by Connie Schmidt, Johnson County (KS) Election Commissioner (PDF)