Did you see Fred Armisen’s skit about election maps on Saturday Night Live? It made me think about how dependent I have become on interactive media in understanding our electoral system. Recent elections have clearly demonstrated that the popular vote is not the final say in U.S. elections. But comprehending how votes in the Electoral College will play out is sometimes hard to comprehend (i.e. who remembers how many electoral votes Nevada has?). Back in the day in 2000, commentators like Tim Russert relied on white boards (pictured right). Nowadays it seems like every major corporate media outlet has a map. The best part of these maps is their interactivity and the game-playing aspect.  I’ve probably spent too long fiddling with them, imagining different scenarios. Perhaps it’s my own love of maps that make them so important to me. But I do think they reveals something about the way “Old Media” is trying to harness new technology to capture a larger audience. National Public Radio

Above is my favorite: the National Public Radio map. Today when I went to get a screen shot to share with you, I noticed that they no longer list any toss up states: big news itself. I like the option in the bottom right that enables the user to project their own results and the tabs to switch between President, Senate and House. NPR seems to base their projections on polls as well as their commentators’ views. Fox News

The unusual thing about the Fox News map is how there’s no initial shading. Is it because their favored candidate is behind in the polls? I do like the way that the map has the option to zoom in on counties within states. But somehow the set up doesn’t seem so user-friendly… and perhaps this is intential? CNN

CNN’s map looks much like the others but it has an interesting bar graph along the top. I always wondered if the person who decided to assign red and blue to either party, did so to avoid old cliches like “Reds” (Did Russert come up with it?). But with CNN’s bar graph, we’re back to “left” and “right.” CNN also seems to have the most toss-up states, i.e. Montana and North Dakota are yellow here (wait, doesn’t “yellow” also imply “cowardly”?). The New York Times

The Old Grey Lady has led the pack in developing multipmedia tools. The New York Times also has the bar graph but is less liberal with its toss-up states. I like how you can click on each state and below the map, a wealth of statistical information appears.

Other great maps on blogs:

Regardless of which map is most user-friendly or informative, I find myself making my plans for Election Night hinging on my access to these web-based tools.For example, do I go to a rally where I can feel part of a larger movement sans wireless, relying on white boards or unleash my inner geek, stay close to my laptop and play with these maps, imagining hundreds of different outcomes until the final results come in?

Immigration has been a thorny issue for John McCain. Over the past few months, he seems to be playing both sides of the issue. As co-author of the 2006 “McCain-Kennedy” bill , his primary opponents assailed McCain as being for “amnesty”. To counteract this perception, McCain was often quoted as saying that he would secure the border first before making any other immigration reforms. Now that he’s wrapped up the nomination, the Republican Party is casting him as pro-immigrant. National Public Radio broadcast a story this past week suggesting that Latinos might support McCain because of this. Also this week McCain met with Latino leaders on Wednesday in Chicago. One Latino Republican in attendance was quoted as saying, “He’s one John McCain in front of white Republicans. And he’s a different John McCain in front of Hispanics.”

Obama on the other hand has promised immigration reform during his first 100 days in office. Even so, Latino congressional reps are worried that Obama isn’t doing enough to court Latinos.

There was also news this week that Democrats are playing both sides of the issue by pushing for more funding for strong-arm enforcement measures.

Immigration is one of those “Alice in Wonderland”-type policy issues where normal positions seem to warp and change at random. With the national elections less than five months away, we’re sure to hear a lot more about the issue.

ACTION STEPS: Check out your candidate’s website to see what he says about immigration policy: McCain or Obama . Contact your candidate and tell him what you think of their position: Obama or McCain