Vote percentages 2016 February vs. 2015 November
This table includes the raw votes for each polling place in the most recent Albany High School vote. Totals from the vote fall on the first proposal have been assigned 2016 February school district polling locations so we can compare the totals between then and now.
Those YES:NO ratio columns are there to give some sense of which way -- and how hard -- the vote totals at/in a given polling location/area leaned on the question of yes or no.
Polling location shares of votes
Of course, raw totals are kind of a blunt way of looking at things -- especially across voting areas with very different numbers of total votes. So here are the results broken down by share of all votes.
Also, look toward the right end of the table, you'll see a column listing how much the total number of votes for each location changed between the vote on the first proposal and the second. There's also color-coded column that tries to gives a sense of the way the votes in each area shifted between November and February (the deeper the green, the more toward "yes").
Map: YES-NO vote percentages 2016 February vs. 2015 November
These two maps are pretty straightforward -- they depict whether "yes" or "no" won out in each voting area, with some sense of by how much. The deeper the green, the higher the majority of "yes" votes. The deeper the red, the higher the majority of "no" votes.
2016 February
2015 November
Map: share of all votes cast
OK, one of the things the above two maps obscure is the total votes cast in each polling area. So, you could look at that map above and say, "Huh, people in the southwest corner of the city really didn't like the high school proposal." And that's sort of true -- a lot of people there did vote against the project. But it's also true that a lot of people voted for it. Example: The Mater Christi polling location -- where the line to vote was wrapped around the room at times this past Tuesday -- had both the highest raw number of people who voted against the project and the highest raw number of people who voted for it, because the turnout was so high there.
So, that's what this map below gets at -- it's a visualization of how many people voted in each area. The deeper the blue, the more people who voted.
Map: ratio of YES:NO votes for each area
So, here's a little bit different way to look at how people voted. It's the ratio of YES:NO votes for each area. A ratio of "1" means that people were evenly split -- positive means the area leaned "yes," negative "no." So, let's compared last fall's vote with the one this week:
2015 November - original high school proposal
The deeper the green, the higher the YES:NO ratio (more votes in favor). The deeper the red, the lower the YES:NO ratio (more votes against.)
So, it's… very gray. Which makes sense, because that original vote ended up being decided by just 92 votes out of 11,674.
2016 February - revised high school proposal
This map isn't a whole lot different, in part because again the overall margin isn't big (189 votes out of 7759). But it does highlight the way the vote totals in a few parts of the city leaned (relatively) a lot more toward "yes" this time around.
Comparing 2015 November and 2016 February votes
One last map of this type, trying to get a sense of how the voting in different parts of the city shifted between the first proposal and the revised proposal.
As we saw with the previous map, the votes in some areas of the city shifted toward "yes" a noticeable amount. But there were also a few areas -- North Albany, the Whitehall neighborhood, and the far western end of the city -- where the votes shifted toward "no."
A rendering from the revised plan that passed by a small margin this week (unofficial results).
Updated Friday morning with better maps.
The vote on the reformulated $180 million plan to rebuild/expand Albany High School has gotten a lot of attention this week not just because it passed (unofficially) by a small margin after another round of contentious discussion -- but also because of problems at many polling places around the city.
Now there's talk of holding yet another vote -- with some local elected officials outright calling for one (such as Albany County exec Dan McCoy) and others (such as Albany mayor Kathy Sheehan and state Assembly member Pat Fahy) saying the state should look into what happened. So, stay tuned. [TU]
In the meantime... We were curious about the patterns of votes around various parts of the city -- and how the vote this time compared to the vote last fall when the first proposal was narrowly defeated.
So, we pulled the voting numbers and sifted them. Are there maps? Come on... you know there are maps.
Look up
This post is basically just a handful of tables and maps -- click or scroll all the way up.
Fine print
November 2015 vote totals are via the Albany County Board of Elections website.
February 2016 vote totals are via the Albany school district and are unofficial.
Votes from November 2015 were grouped by February 2016 polling location according to ward and election district assignments listed on the Albany school district website.
The maps above are unofficial. The map areas for each polling location were grouped by AOA, not an official governmental source. It's very possible there are errors.
Earlier on AOA
+ Thinking about the plan for the next version of Albany High School
Comments
You guys rock! This is the data I've been craving.
... said chrisck on Feb 12, 2016 at 7:55 AM | link
"But it's also true that a lot of people voted for it. Example: The Mater Christi polling location -- where the line to vote was wrapped around the room at times this past Tuesday -- had both the highest raw number of people who voted against the project and the highest raw number of people who voted against it, because the turnout was so high there."
Did you meant to say ..."the highest raw # of people who voted for the project and the highest # of people who voted against it..."? Or am I misreading it?
Editors: Erf. That's a typo. Fixed. Thank you.
... said James at 46 or so on Feb 12, 2016 at 8:53 AM | link
the voting process was managed in such a way that many lost faith in the system. Or at least that is the common perception. A redo, done in a proper manner by experienced organizations with adequate notification, is essential to restore credibility.
Otherwise the "joke" lable will always be associated with the school voting procedure.
... said jaketwiceover on Feb 12, 2016 at 9:42 AM | link
Joke? Nah. This is Albany, and there are people with long memories. If vote stands, it will forever be referred to in this context, "Remember the time the School Board stole the vote back in 2016, it was like Erastus has come back from the grave".
... said J on Feb 12, 2016 at 10:28 AM | link
I voted yes, but I think there has to be a revote. if not, then the school board is saying that votes don't matter, all that matters is that we got what we wanted. I think that is a very dangerous road to go down. They need to do it right and make sure everyone who is eligible to vote has the opportunity to do so. There were enough problems to easily say that people were denied the opportunity to vote. We don't want that hanging over our heard during this important project.
... said Dave on Feb 12, 2016 at 1:42 PM | link
What a mess! The perception on the street is that the election was rigged to favor passage of the referendum. The fact is the election was poorly planned. The Board/District has further divided the community. The Board/District has further eroded trust and confidence in the public school system. Many Albanians including the Times Union have called for a new election because of alleged electoral irregularities. The election seemed to be blatantly unfair and dishonest. If the Board votes against a 3rd election then it will disrespect the will of the community and the integrity of the electoral process. This is not 1966 when a voter was willing to sell his/her vote for $5. Do the right thing and schedule a 3rd election under the auspices of the Albany County Board of Elections and not the Albany City School district.
... said William on Feb 12, 2016 at 6:44 PM | link
There should only be a revote if the state finds there was wrongdoing that rises to the level required for a revote. Otherwise the vote should stand. Sorry people had to wait a long time to vote. Unfortunately, that is not illegal.
... said Realitycheck100 on Feb 14, 2016 at 10:56 PM | link
I voted no, although I do strongly approve of spending for repair and maintenance. But all this rebuilding seems over the top, and it won't help students academically. Furthermore, the amount of taxes it will really cost the taxpayer are being falsified by the school. Either way, though, yes or no, the voting was a disaster. At ASH, the votes were on the floor and on top of the receptacle. Anyone could have tampered with them, one way or the other. The lines were long and all we had was a paper to check yes or no. It took several phone calls to find out where to vote. People in line complained that they were turned away at their usual polling place or a new polling place, and then rerouted to the current polling place. It seemed like everything under the sun had been done to keep people from voting. If the city wants to do it right, do it at the people's usual polling place and scan the votes in - and staff the place. I don't approve of these special votes on special days at special places. It's infuriating.
... said Anonymous on Feb 15, 2016 at 7:53 PM | link