The familiar “face” of the geographic United States map is often used to illustrate what goes on inside it. But all that a geographic map ever shows is acreage, and if you’re interested in some other quantity on such a map, that acreage distorts or obscures the data you’re looking for. Here are some alternative, and more accurate, maps for viewing and understanding the 2004 election results.

Viewing these maps, especially the cartograms, I was reminded of the work of Edward Tufte, who has spent his career investigating and refining the ways we display data. I hope to see more cartograms in mainstream media in the future.