Friday, April 27, 2012

Proposition 8 Maps

In 2008, Proposition 8 changed the California state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage but did you know that more in-state donations were made by those opposed to the ban? Prop 8 still passed by over a half million votes. These maps were created to draw a comparison between donations and votes to "no on 8" (oppose ban) and to "yes on 8" (support ban). The data comes from public financial records submitted to the California Secretary of State. 

The first map in the series shows the spatial distribution of donations for "no on 8" (oppose ban) in California by zipcode. The heights are based on total dollar amount and darker colors indicate a higher number of contributors. The subset maps compare donations in Northern and Southern California. Seven out of the top ten counties with the highest amount of pro-gay marriage donations came from Northern California. The county with the highest total donation and largest number of contributors to "no on 8" was Los Angeles. Interestingly, Los Angeles County voted for "yes on 8" (support ban) by a mere 0.20%.



The second map in the series shows the spatial distribution of donations for "yes on 8" (support ban) in California by zipcode. The heights are based on total dollar amount and darker colors indicate a higher number of contributors. The subset maps compare donations in Northern and Southern California. The top five counties with the highest amount of donations to “yes on 8” all came from Southern California. The county with the highest total donations to “yes on 8” was Orange County. In addition to being the county with the largest number of contributors to "no on 8" (oppose ban), Los Angeles was also the county with the largest number of contributors to “yes on 8”



The following maps show a comparison between donations to "no on 8" (oppose ban) and to "yes on 8" (support ban) in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Alameda and Sacramento Counties. The heights are based on total dollar amount and darker colors indicate a higher number of contributors. Since there are donations to both no and yes in most zipcodes, I have included inset maps for each side. The larger county maps are a combination of donations to both no and yes; whether or not the region is colored blue or red depends on which side donated more. I have also included graphs that shows how the county voted and which side spent more money.

The donation and voting data shows San Diego County as predominantly against marriage equality. The largest amount of money donated to "no on 8" (oppose ban) came from Mission Hills followed by the 92104 and 92116 zipcodes in City of San Diego. Interestingly, the second largest sum of money donated to "yes on 8" (support ban) came from 92120 in City of San Diego, a zipcode adjacent to 92104 and 92116. The largest amount of money donated to "yes on 8" came from La Jolla from a small amount of contributors. Other areas with high contributions to "yes on 8" include El Cajon, Poway, Fallbrook, Carlsbad, Encinitas and Rancho Penasquitos. 


The donation and voting data shows Orange County is predominantly against marriage equality as well. Even the most liberal area of Orange County, Laguna Beach, received over three times as much money to "yes on 8" (support ban) as to "no on 8" (oppose ban). The largest amount of money donated to "yes on 8" came from Irvine and the highest number of contributors to "yes on 8" came from Fountain Valley, Laguna Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita and Yorba Linda. The majority of Orange County donated to and voted for “yes on 8”.


Los Angeles County donated over 11 million dollars to "no on 8" (oppose ban), twice as much as was donated to "yes on 8" (support ban), but “yes on 8” prevailed by just 2385 votes. The largest sums of money donated to "no on 8" were from Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Hollywood. The largest number of contributors to "no on 8" came from Long Beach, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. The largest sums of money donated to “yes on 8” came from La Canada & La Crescenta, Palos Verdes and La Verne. The largest number of contributors to “yes on 8” came from the City of Long Beach.


The donation and voting data shows that San Francisco County is predominantly in favor of marriage equality. Nearly 7 million dollars was donated to "no on 8" (oppose ban), five times as much money as was donated to "yes on 8" (support ban). "No on 8" voters outnumbered “yes on 8” voters 3 to 1. The largest amount of donation to "no on 8" came from the Financial District, Fisherman’s Wharf, The Castro District and Noe Valley. The largest number of contributors came from Mission District, Haight, Glen Park and Diamond Heights. In comparison, a marginal amount of money was donated to “yes on 8”.


Alameda County is also predominantly in favor of marriage equality based on the total donation and votes. The largest amount of money and number of contributors to "no on 8" (oppose ban) came from Berkeley and Oakland. The largest amount of money to "yes on 8" (support ban) came from Pleasanton and Dublin, while the largest number of contributors came from Livermore and Pleasanton.


The donation and voting data show that Sacramento County is predominantly against marriage equality. The largest amount of money donated to "no on 8" (oppose ban) came from Downtown Sacramento (location of the California State Capitol Building) and the 95841 zipcode in the City of Sacramento. The largest amount of contributors to "no on 8" came from Downtown Sacramento. The largest amount of money donated to "yes on 8" (support ban) came from Granite Bay and Folsom. The largest number of contributors to “yes on 8” came from Folsom, Elk Grove, Fair Oaks and Granite Bay. 


These maps are based on campaign finance reports submitted to the California Secretary of State. The raw data for these maps can be downloaded as a .CSV file from the LA Times Prop 8 Money Tracker. The voting data can be viewed on the California Secretary of State Prop 8 voting map.

Proposition 8 has since been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in the next few years. There is currently a stay on the ruling by the 9th Circuit Court since supporters of prop 8 immediately petitioned for a rehearing. Gay marriage is still prohibited in the state of California. 

Comments or questions? If you don’t see it on the map and are interested in knowing how YOUR area donated, email me at kelsey.ck@ucla.edu






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