There's been a lot of buzz over the past few years about how GIS is
democratizing everything. The power to peek at your neighbors' backyards,
strip mines, and refugee camps has been called democracy. Maybe it is, or at
least is raw material for democracy. Myself, right now, I'm more concerned
about political equality and the right to participate in choosing
representatives in government. Bottom line: does GIS enfranchise us? If not,
all this democratization talk is just hot air.
There are at least three phases of the US election process that might involve GIS:
Districting. Is GIS mainly used to produce fair, competitive, districts
that encourage compromise and consensus? Or is it used to produce "safe" districts where the minority lives under semi-permanent tyranny?
Campaigning. Is GIS mainly used to find first-time or infrequent voters and educate them about issues? Is it used in coordinating dirty tricks such as voter-suppression robo-calls, or bogus calls about polling place changes?
Voting. Is GIS used to bring extra staff and equipment to needy districts so that voting can proceed quickly and efficiently? Or is it being used to short-change particular districts based on their location and demographics?
The balance is going to vary greatly across the US. After all we do have thousands of independent elections going on, all of them with their own unique procedures, standards, and equipment. It's a completely amateur operation, to be honest, and susceptible to ineptitude and corruption. Is GIS making the situation better, or worse?
For what it's worth, I have a personal anecdote. I did volunteer GIS work in 2004 for local and state compaigns, mainly helping to coordinate canvassing. Simple maps and geocoders astounded and boggled the staffers. "You can take a list of addresses and map them?! Right in front of us?! In seconds?!" Other than my various hacks, there was no GIS employed by these campaigns at all. I couldn't believe how geographically half-assed they were. Still, we managed to go 3-2 :)
Comments
Re: OS and GeoDRM: Only the Half of It
Author: Ed Parsons
Sean, No root kits here I promise, you are right the key point here is around trust and the traditional IP owners view of risk. It is difficult for traditional publishers of information to move into the post Google world, without feeling very insecure. We need always to balance the rights of owners of information with those who want to exploit it, and to allow the innovation as you point out needs the current "restrictions" to be reduced - I have no argument with that .. it is just going to take some time edRe: OS and GeoDRM: Only the Half of It
Author: Sean
Ed, thanks for being a good sport about my dramatization. The world is changing quickly, but one constant is that vendors who trust their users will be appreciated and rewarded. I hope that other CTOs are listening to you about this.