North Carolina state constitution Amendment One appeared on the May 8, 2012 state ballot, and was passed by popular vote (61.05% for, 38.95% against). The amendment defines marriage in the state constitution as between one man and one woman and bars the state from recognizing any domestic partnerships or civil unions (same sex or otherwise). Same sex marriage was already illegal in North Carolina, however the amendment adds the ban to the state constitution.
We felt that many of the current maps circulating only told part of the story behind Amendment One. The second map (Swing Direction on Amendment One) is the one you've likely seen on the news. It is also the one being used by both sides in heated "us against them"-style arguments. The first map (Percentage For Amendment One (Diverging)) uses the same data, but with a complete color scale that shows just how close and far individual counties were.
We also include other maps in the dropdown boxes. You can select different maps and hover over counties to compare different variables. Note that most variables are weighted by the total population of a county, such as Percentage Separated or Divorced and Percentage with Bachelor or Graduate Degrees.
An in-depth writeup on why we built these maps can be found on the Visual.ly blog.
You can find the code on GitHub and follow Lane (@laneharrison) and Drew Skau (@SeeingStructure) on Twitter.
| County | For | Against | Male Population | Female Population | Separated and Divorced | Married | Bachelor and Graduate Degrees | Total Universities | Population per square mile | Veteran Population | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|