County maps and the 2003 California Statewide Special Election

“County maps can be deceptive, especially for large states like California. Unless the population of a state is dispersed evenly in proportion to the size of each county, there is no direct relationship between the physical area of a county and the number of people, registered voters, or votes cast within it. Which is why I was surprised to see an analyst from a leading all-news television network point to a map of California and single out San Bernadino county, California’s largest county by area, as a significant reason for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s victory.”