Geo-Enabled Elections
Best
Practices
Guidance
IMPROVING AMERICA’S
ELECTIONS with GIS
Does America’s electoral system know where each voter resides? By and large, yes. But not nearly well enough to correctly place every voter in the right voting district and avoid election errors. Integrating GIS in elections increases election accuracy and efficiency; however, few states and other election authorities have fully geo-enabled their elections. NSGIC partnered with states, counties, and subject matter experts to develop five best practices for implementing GIS in elections.
Read the executive summary
Learn about the five best practices for geo-enabling elections and how states can benefit from integrating GIS in elections.
Best practices in detail
More detail about the five best practices, including policy and technical considerations.
PILOT STUDIES
Learnings from eleven states and five counties who worked to raise their levels of GIS in elections, as part of NSGIC’s pilot study program.
ALSO AVAILABLE: CASE STUDIES THAT HELP INFORM THE BEST PRACTICES
Best practices
for IMPLEMENTING GIS IN ELECTIONS
Convening a team of specialists
Collecting & Sustaining a Voting unit GIS layer
implementing a GEOCODING STRATEGY
Assembling best available contextual layers
Defining & Implementing data validation processes
Other helpful tools to advance the work
Need help getting the work started? NSGIC has developed a number of useful tools for states and counties working to elevate their use of GIS in elections. Find Resources for Election Directors here.
Are you investing funds to upgrade your elections management system? Make sure your new voter registration system is capable of using GIS – or you may lock your state into outdated list-file technology for years. Use these sample RFPs to learn how.
More information on the state of GIS in elections across the country can be found in these reports from the Geo-Enabled Elections project.
THE GEO-ENABLED ELECTIONS PROJECT
NSGIC’s Geo-Enabled Elections project, 2017-2022, worked to strengthen the accuracy and reliability of America’s electoral system and to increase voters’ confidence that their voices are being heard in each election. The project advocated for a stronger dialogue between state GIOs and election directors and developed best practices – as well as trainings and resources – to help states and counties leverage GIS data to achieve more effective and accurate elections. Read more about the project here.