Elect / An Interactive Graphical System For The Automatic Generation Of Electoral Maps

Abstract

When an electoral map is prepared, various socio-economic, political and geographical parameters must be taken into consideration. In order to evaluate the importance of these parameters, it is necessary to have several electoral maps drawn. The ELECT system produces electoral maps automatically according to options selected by the user. As an electoral map is composed of ridings, that are themselves composed of sectors, one of the main problems to be solved is to distinguish automatically between the boundary of each riding (unknown at the beginning) and the boundaries of each sector (known for each one). This problem is particularly difficult to solve by computer. A similar problem occurs with the positioning of the sector numbers and riding names on the map. The graphical ELECT system offers solutions to these complex problems as well as providing an interactive dialogue with the user.