User:DrRandomFactor

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Dr. Random Factor, Ph.D - Vector Graphics, Election Maps, Legislature Diagrams, & Political Logos

A lifelong political enthusiast & amateur cartographer, I am a frequent uploader of election maps and other maps. My first election maps were for Canadian provinces and they were less than impressive. Since then I have expanded my skills and now consider myself a skilled cartographer. The program I use for making all of my maps is Adobe Illustrator. Data for the election maps is often sourced from news sources and Wikipedia.

My very good buddy/business partner is Mr.Election, and we frequently work together on election maps. Several of the following maps are co-authored between me and Mr.Election. I highly suggest giving his page a view as well, he makes many amazing election maps and he's even won a Wikimedia award!

I do take requests for election maps. If you would like to request an election map from me, send me a message on Wikimedia and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Or you can message me on Wikimedia. Whatever works best. Email is preferable however and I will provide my email address if asked. There is an FAQ section at the bottom of this page.

Below is a gallery of maps, legislature diagrams, and political logos I have created. Maps me and Mr.Election have co-authored are denoted with a Red Flag ("🚩") below.

Awards

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The Original Barnstar
Amazing job on all of these maps, your work is appreciated! Tyanc13and7 talk 23:25, 27 September 2017 (UTC)
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
Your maps are the best. Good job! Yilku1 (talk) 15:27, 31 October 2017 (UTC)
The Brilliant Idea Barnstar
Mr.Election just informed me that you were the one who composed the map for the 2016 state house elections in Michigan. I am blown away by the detail; the map shows not just which party one each district, but the relative voter intensity. VERY good job! I'd love to see you do a few more for a few additional recent elections in the state since 2010 including the gubernatorial races by county and maybe post-redistricting (which would start in 2012) state legislative races. Criticalthinker (talk) 01:18, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
The Surreal Barnstar
I think your election maps are some of the best on Wikimedia Commons! MB298 (talk) 03:59, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

Canada & Canadian Provincial Maps

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Maps of Canada

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Canadian Federal Election 2019 Maps

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Canadian Federal Election 2015 Maps

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Canadian Federal Election 2015 - Party Vote Strength Maps

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Canadian Federal Election 2011 Maps

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Previous Canadian Federal Election Maps

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Conservative Party Leadership Election 2017 Maps

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Canadian Senate Maps

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Canadian Member of Parliament (MP) Voting Maps

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Maps of British Columbia

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British Columbia Provincial Election Maps

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British Columbia Referendum Maps

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Other British Columbia Provincial Election Maps

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British Columbia Party Leadership Elections

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Maps of Alberta

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Alberta Provincial Election Maps

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Maps of Saskatchewan

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Saskatchewan Provincial Election Maps

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To see additional maps of Saskatchewan, please visit Mr.Election's Wikimedia page.

Maps of Manitoba

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Manitoba Provincial Election Maps

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Maps of Ontario

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Ontario Provincial Election 2018

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Ontario Provincial Election 2018 - Party Vote Strength Maps

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Ontario Provincial Election 2014

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Ontario Provincial Election 2014 - Party Vote Strength Maps

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Ontario Provincial Election 2011

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Ontario Provincial Election 2011 - Party Vote Strength Maps

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Ontario Provincial Election 2007

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Ontario Provincial Election 2007 - Party Vote Strength Maps

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Other Ontario Provincial Elections

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Ontario Party Leadership Elections

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Maps of Quebec

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Quebec Provincial Election 2018

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Quebec Provincial Election 2014

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To see additional maps of Quebec, please visit Mr.Election's Wikimedia page.

Other Quebec Provincial Election Maps

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Quebec Referendum Maps

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Maps of New Brunswick

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To see additional maps of New Brunswick, please visit Mr.Election's Wikimedia page.

Maps of Prince Edward Island

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To see additional maps of Prince Edward Island, please visit Mr.Election's Wikimedia page.

Maps of Nova Scotia

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Maps of Newfoundland & Labrador

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Maps of the Canadian Territories

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Yukon Election Maps

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Northwest Territories & Nunavut Election Maps

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Other Canadian Election Maps

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Toronto Mayoral Election Maps

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Windsor, ON Ward/Municipal Maps

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2022 Windsor, Ontario Municipal Election Maps

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Maps of the United Kingdom & Ireland

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United Kingdom General Election 2017 Maps

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United Kingdom 2017 Election Maps By NUTS Region

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Maps of Scotland

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Map of Scottish Parliament Elections

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Maps of Wales

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Map of Welsh Parliament Elections

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Maps of Northern Ireland

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Map of Northern Ireland Assembly Elections

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Maps of London

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Map of London Assembly Elections

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Maps of the Republic of Ireland

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Map of Ireland general elections

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Maps of Australia & New Zealand

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Maps of Australia & New Zealand Federal Elections

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Australia Election 2019

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Australia Election 2016

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New Zealand Elections

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Maps of Australian States & Territories

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Western Australia

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Northern Territory

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South Australia

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New South Wales

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Victoria

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Tasmania

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Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

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Maps of the United States of America

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State Legislature Election Maps (2016 Election)

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City Council Elections

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2016 House of Representatives Election

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Maps of Other Countries

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Argentinian Election Maps

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The Bahamas Election Maps

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Belize Election Maps

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Bermuda Election Maps

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Costa Rica Election Maps

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Czech Republic Election Maps

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Falkland Islands Election Maps

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Germany Election Maps

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Iceland Election Maps

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Jamaica Election Maps

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Lesotho Election Maps

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Malta Election Maps

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Poland Election Maps

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South Africa Election Maps

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Trinidad & Tobago Election Maps

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Outdated & Retired Maps

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This section contains election maps I have created in the past that are no longer in use, or have been updated by a more professionally done version of the same map. Many of these are from my early days of map-making.

Legislature Seating Plan Diagrams

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This section contains the seating plans of many Legislative Assemblies. Most of them are provincial/territorial legislatures from my native Canada. Some city council charts are in here as well.

NOTE - The files state the date at which the most recent election occurred. Many of these maps have had small changes made to them over time due to by-elections and defections - some by myself, some by other Wikimedia users..

Canadian Federal Parliaments

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Canadian Provincial Legislatures

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Canadian Territorial Legislatures

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Other Legislatures

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Political Logos

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Some of my earliest SVG work was making logos of different political parties. Aside from map-making, it is still something I do from time to time. Here is all of them.

SVG Flags

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Here are some flags I have converted from .jpeg files to .svg files.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

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Q: What program do you use to make the maps?

A: I use Adobe Illustrator (AI). Any vector program would work such as GIMP or InkScape, but I have always preferred to use AI.

Q: What was the first election map you made?

A: It's not on Wikimedia because of how bad it was but it was a map of Yukon's 2011 election. It was appallingly bad since it was traced with the "Image Trace" tool as opposed to me tracing it by hand. Even the vote strength chart was traced like this and the colours ended up looking washed out and horrid. It was awful at the time but I remember thinking it looked pretty cool. The first one I uploaded to Wikimedia was my first design of the Ontario 2014 election map. The original design is under the "Outdated and Retired Maps" if you want to check it out. Since then, Ive redesigned the Ontario election maps 4 times.

Q: How long does it take to make a map?

A: It depends on the complexity of the map and how many problems with Adobe Illustrator I encounter! Smaller maps can take anywhere from 2-4 hours to make, while some of the larger and more complex maps can take a total of 10 hours of work (working on and off, of course). The 2015 Canada election map took about 13 hours to make, since it was my first major map.

Q: What is your most favourite map that you made?

A: I would have to say my Canada 2015 map. It was my first major project and even though it could use some improvements, Im still happy with how it turned out.

Q: What is your least favourite map that you made?

Im not gonna answer that :P

Q: Are you partners with Mr.Election?

A: When it comes to map-making absolutely, were a team! We have our own logo! He's a great friend, and we work together on many maps, and its the reason we've been able to make so many so quickly.

Q: Can I request a map to be made?

A: Absolutely! I do take requests for maps. I dislike the Wikimedia chat system so I prefer if you email suggestions to my personal email riley.richard1095@gmail.com. I will try to respond as quickly as I can. That being said there are some maps I cannot do, such as for a lack of reliable data on election numbers or a lack of an accurate existing boundaries map for me to base my maps off of.

Q: Where do you get the electoral data for your maps?

A: This depends on what country I am doing. If I am doing Canada or any of the provinces, I get my data from http://www.election-atlas.ca/fed/. Its a wonderful site that gives you a full listing of borders of constituencies from elections past (many of my maps are traced directly off of that site's map), who ran in each constituency, and the vote totals. Really a wonderful site. For other countries, I mostly rely on data from their respective Wikipedia pages, or even external data sites.

Q: Do you charge anything for maps?

A: For Wikimedia uploads, no. Those are fair game for anyone to use (with credit, preferably :P)

That being said, if anyone wants any custom maps, send me an e-mail, and I'd be more than happy to negotiate a price.

Q: Do you work in graphic design?

A: No, but I wish I did. I mostly do this as a hobby. I really don't have any formal graphic design training, I'm pretty much mostly self-taught.

Q: What do you do outside of map making?

A: Nothing interesting to be totally honest (laughs)! I like to keep informed of current events. I do love video games, and I own several systems. Most of what I like to do is related to technology these days.

Q: Where did you get your style of making maps?

A: I will be 100% honest, the style is copied. On each of the Canadian federal election Wikipedia pages, there is a map showing the seat count by provinces, and the different shades of colours representing the strength of the vote in each province. I ended up basing my map design off of those designs.

I ended up keeping that style when I made my maps, the reason being its simple, easy to make, and easily readable.

Q: Can I use your map(s)?

A: Absolutely! Thats why they are on Wikimedia, so people can use them for what they need them for. I only ask that myself (or Mr.Election if he had a hand in making the map) are given credit where credit is due.