Block Editing

Block Editing

Block editing is our most advanced editing mode, which enables the most accurate redistricting possible. It is used to fine-tune your districts when your map is nearly complete (e.g. to achieve zero population deviation). Block editing is only recommended for experienced users who are comfortable navigating around the map and drawing controls.

Limitations of Block Editing

Block are only visible when you zoom in. If you zoom out too far, the blocks will be hidden (but don‘t worry, they‘ll still be there for you when you zoom back in!) Once you select one or more blocks, you will need to resolve pending changes (click Accept or Cancel before you can leave Block Editing).

When to use block editing

Block editing is best enabled when you need to fine-tune your map to reach a near 0 population deviation. Generally, that is only required for U.S. Congressional districts, but it may also be necessary for other places. When working in block editing mode, you'll see the ID displayed in the tooltip as you pan across the map. This is the unique geographic identifier for each block from the U.S. Census. The data in the tooltip is the population and demographic data from the U.S. Census. The political data is disaggregated from precinct files by the VEST team. Since that is an imperfect science, you may sometimes find that the number of votes doesn't quite match the population in the block.