[dmurray]

But the county-level results aren't what's important in the election. For showing results, it makes sense to show all of Texas in red as soon as it's confirmed to have gone 50.1% to Trump, or whatever.

This map is useful in visualizing demographics and expected voter distribution. It's more valuable for showing election predictions than newsworthy results.

[munificent]

> it makes sense to show all of Texas in red as soon as it's confirmed to have gone 50.1% to Trump, or whatever.

That only makes sense if a state's area is the same as the number of electors it has, which isn't the case.

If you want to show an electoral college map, you'd show each state in red or blue, with lightness based on the number of electors the state provides.

But, obviously, the intent of a county-level map is not to show electors, it's to show something about the demographic makeup of voter preferences.

[cs702]

> But, obviously, the intent of a county-level map is not to show electors, it's to show something about the demographic makeup of voter preferences.

Exactly: The map is meant to show "where the votes came from" without distorting any shapes.