Ryne Rohla at Decision Desk HQ set out to model American voting patterns, by burrowing down to the most localized, nuanced metric available: local precincts. This is something few, if any, have ever attempted do. He explains in his piece entitled, “Creating a National Precinct Map”
In January 2011, I sent an email to the Washington State Democratic Party asking about precinct results from the 2008 presidential caucus race. State party chairman Jaxon Ravens replied simply with the question, “Why would you want them?” As he reminded me, the precinct results had no bearing on delegate allocation or the eventual party nominee. My nineteen-year-old self struggled to articulate a satisfying answer.
