Districting Competition Tutorial

Using ArcGIS 9.3 and Districting Wizard1

For The State of Ohio

April 2009

Version 1.0
April 10, 2009

Prepared for:
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner

Prepared by:
Cleveland State University
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
Northern Ohio Data & Information Service (NODIS)
1717 Euclid Ave
Cleveland, Ohio 44115

Phone 216-687-3716 Mark Salling, PhD, GISP

Phone 216-687-2221 Jim Wyles, GISP

1
ArcGIS is a product of the Environmental Resources Institute (ESRI) – www.esri.com. Information on the Districting extension is
at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/extensions/districting/index.html.
Background and Purpose of Ohio Redistricting Competition and the Tutorial

According the Ohio Secretary of State, the goal of the Ohio Redistricting Competition is to demonstrate that 
an open process based on objective criteria can produce fair legislative districts in Ohio.   
 
This tutorial is designed to show the user how to use ArcGIS software and the Districting extension to 
prepare and submit a plan for the Competition. Please refer to the document “FINAL Rules of the 
Competition” for details and rules about this project including the rules and procedures of the competition. 
 
This tutorial, which also serves as a manual, provides instructions on how to use many of the tools, 
functions, and options available in ArcGIS and the Districting extension that will help the user create 
proposed plans for this project. However, because the tutorial was written in a relatively limited timeframe 
many functions and options of the software that may also be useful are not covered. Persons with more 
experience with GIS software in general and with ArcGIS in particular may be able to more easily learn and 
use these additional functions.  
 
Please follow the tutorial carefully as missed steps or incorrect specifications or actions can cause errors and 
much frustration. Please expect that it will take several practices and some hours of work to become 
comfortably efficient with the software. 
 
The software is the product of ESRI and may not always work as expected or desired. The authors of this 
document are only responsible for the tutorial and the two tools that were created to assist the competition 
– the Compactness Tool and the Fragmentation Tool. 
 
Any errors or significant omissions in the tutorial or completion tools may be corrected in subsequent 
versions. 

1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACCESS TERMINAL SERVER USING REMOTE DESKTOP ………………………………………... 3

SAMPLE DATA OVERVIEW …………………………………………………………………………….... 8

TUTORIAL ………………………………………………………………………………………………...… 9

Getting Started ……………………………………………………………………………………… 9

Create Plan Using the District Wizard ………………………….……………………………….. 10

Opening Reference Layers (County, Community, & Congressional Districts-2000) to Map. 17

Assign “Source” Geography Units (Precincts) to Districts …………………………………….. 18

Lock Source Geographic Units …………………………………………………………………....26

Change District Symbology ………………………………………………………………………..28

Open an Existing Plan ………………………………………………………………………….…..29

Create a Shapefile from the Plan ………………………………………………………………....31

Run the Compactness Tool ……………………………………………………………………….33

Run the Fragmentation Tool ……………………………………………………………………....37

Create a PDF Image of the Districting Map Plan ……………………………………………….43

Submit the Plan Shapefiles …………………………………………………………………….…47

APPENDIX A – STEPS FOR DOWNLOADING & INSTALLATION OF ARCGIS DISTRICTING

SOFTWARE ………………………………………………………………………………………….……..50

APPENDIX B – COUNTY POPULATION ……………………………………………………………….55

2
Access Terminal Server Using Remote Desktop

The software and data are housed at The Ohio State University (OSU) on a terminal server. Internet
access using with a remote desktop connection is required. The tutorial assumes use of a Windows
operating system environment.

The following instructions are used to access The Ohio State University’s Windows 2003 Terminal
Server for ArcGIS 9.3 using a Remote Desktop application for Windows XP, VISTA and 2000
Operating Systems (OS).

The Remote Desktop Connection (RDC)2 is used to connect to the OSU Windows Terminal Server.

To begin the RDC:

• Click Start,
• click Programs,
• click Accessories,
• click Remote Desktop Connection

Or it may be through a sequence of Start, Programs, Accessories, Communications, Remote

Desktop Connection.

See Illustrations on the following page.

2Microsoft has Remote Desktop Client available in its Operating Systems after Windows 2000. XP and Vista have this
application by default. The typical windows executable file is c:\windows\system32\mstsc.exe.

Windows 2000; Windows 95; Windows 98; Windows ME; Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP remote desktop client can
be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/tools/rdclientdl.mspx

Under Download on right-hand side click msrdpcli.exe. On the next page, click the download button. Save file.
Double-click file to install. This places the remote desktop client in Programs-Accessories-Communications-Remote Desktop
Connection.

For Apple MacIntosh Users, the MAC Remote Desktop Connection Client 2 is available for download at
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/remote-desktop/default.mspx
3
Right-click on Remote Desktop Connection and click Create Shortcut:

4
Place the shortcut icon on your desktop by either clicking on Yes on the window below, or by
dragging it from where it is put to the desktop if this choice is not provided.

The icon will be seen on your desktop:

Once the Remote Desktop Connection shortcut icon has been placed on your desktop, you will
NOT need to repeat the previous steps to start a RDC session.

5
To start RDC:
You will be provided a computer login account, password, and OSU computer machine number.
Double-Click on “Remote Desktop Connection” icon on your desktop.

For the computer, enter the computer number that you are assigned. The computer numbers are
164.107.37.143, 164.107.37.144, or 164.107.37.154.

Type your assigned

computer number

If you want to access your local drives from the terminal server - click Options – Local Resources
and check Disk drives. See images below.

If you don’t find Disk drives then click More under Local devices and resource and then Drives.

Printers are already checked and this will allow you to print to any printer accessible from your PC.

Click Connect and OK.

6
Otherwise, click OK

If you get this warning message:

Click the box “Don’t ask me again for remote connections to this computer” in order to avoid the
warning message the next time you login. Select Connect.

Click OK to the login message.

Enter your login id and password and click OK.

[NOTE: To change your password: Click Start, click windows security, and click change password.]

You are now ready to get started. In this exercise you will: 1) look at the districting data3, 2)
complete a districting plan tutorial, 3) create a plan shapefile4, run tools to determine district
compactness, county fragmentation, and community fragmentation, 4) create a PDF image of your
plan, and 5) submit your plan Shapefile and other required information.

3
Data will be stored on the z: drive. You will access data there and also write files to folders on the z-drive.
4
A shapefile is the way your boundary plan is stored and used by the GIS software.
7
Sample Data Overview
On the OSU Windows Terminal Server the data is provided in the folder
z:\ Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio. The data for the year 2000 includes Ohio voting precincts, communities,
communities that cross county borders, counties, and the 19 Congressional Districts as of 2000 –
those in use prior to the current 18 districts.

Warning: Do NOT modify or delete

any field that is present in these data
layers. Tools that will be used are
expecting the field names present.

Voting Precincts, 2000

8
Tutorial

Getting Started
This tutorial has been provided to step you through the basic functionality of the Districting for
ArcGIS add-on. You will create districts from precinct data for the State of Ohio. For the
competition, use this tutorial as a guideline to create 18 Congressional Districts.

In this tutorial, you will:

• Create a new plan using the Districting Wizard.

• Assign source geography units (precincts) to districts.

• Open reference layers (county, community, & congressional districts- 2000) to map

• Lock source geography units.

• Change district symbology.

• Open an Existing Plan.

• Create a shapefile from the district assignments.

• Run the Compactness Tool.

• Run the Fragmentation Tool.

• Create a PDF Image of the Districting Map Plan.

• Submit the shapefiles and other required information

9
To begin, open ArcGIS by double clicking on the ArcMap icon .

If the Start using ArcMap with window pops up, click on the X in the top right corner to close
the window:

Create Plan Using the Districting Wizard

In this section you will create a new plan workspace and a new plan using the Districting Wizard.
First you have to make sure that the Districting Extension is activated and the Districting tools and
toolbars are available to you.

1. To activate the Districting extension, go to the ArcMap Tools menu, click Extensions. In the
Extensions dialog box, add a check the box next to Districting (if it does not have a check
already), and click Close:

10
To display the Districting toolbar, click the ArcMap View menu, click on Toolbars, and then click
Districting:

If the Districting box already has a check

mark, do NOT select it again as it will
toggle off the Districting extension.

Note: You can dock your toolbar by clicking on the vertical bar on the left side of the Districting
menu and dragging it to the desired position at the top of your screen:

2. Create a new plan by clicking Districting, click Districting Admin, and click Create New Plan:

11
3. Set Plan Workspace and Plan Name. This is the where the plan and associated districting files
will be stored.

Click Create a new plan workspace.

Select the folder icon . Browse to the z:

drive and folders:
z:\Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans

The Plan Workspace Path screen appears.

Type your own plan name (such as Marks

Plan 1) here in the File name box.

(We use “TutorialPlan” in this example.)

Save as Type box should say Geodatabase

(*mdb)

Select Save.

The path and geodatabase to store your

plan work is now created.

In the Plan Name box, type a name for

your plan: Plan1

Select Next

12
 Place a check mark in the box :
Source geography has attribute data

The message below appears.

Click OK

Click the Add New button.

The Add Source Geography

Screen appears (see next page).

13
4. Set Source Geography with Source Attributes.

The plan workspace to add source geography

should already be present: Z:\
Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans\
Tutorialplan.mdb

Under Geographic Data Source Type, select

Shapefile. (IMPORTANT)
Click the browse button by Source Geography
data source. Browse to Z:\
Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\. Click the
precinct00w_data.shp feature class Click Add.

Type "precincts2000" as the source geography

name.

Click the source geography key field name drop-

down arrow and select PRECCODE.
Type "Precincts in Ohio for the year 2000" as the
source geography description.

Select POP00 for Universe Field and select

POP00 for Optimal-value field
(Pop00 = Total Population in 2000)
The POP00 field is used to calculate the
percentages of African Americans and the
proportions of the state population for each district.

Click OK.

Precincts2000 is now
displayed in the source
geography box

Select Next

14
For our tutorial plan we will create 18 districts from the precinct file in which we will use the
total population field, POP00, as the optimal-value field.

In the District caption drop down,

click District

In the Number of Districts drop

down, click 18

Click Next

The optimal target value,

630731, is calculated by
the software by taking the
sum of the pop00 / 18
(11,353,154 / 18)

Note: Due to rounding in

creating the precinct data the
value of POP00 for each
precinct when summed is 14
persons higher than the actual
Ohio total population for 2000.

Click Next

Next, we want to specify which fields in the precinct data are to be summed when we aggregate
precincts to districts. And we want to see the percent of the population that is Black in each district
as we build them.

15
 Place a check mark under Sum for:
BL_POP00 (Black Population in 2000)
PRES_DEM (Presidential results for
Democrats in 2000)
PRES_REP (Presidential results for
Republicans in 2000)

Place a check mark under Percent for:

BL_POP00 (Black Population in 2000)

Select Finish

NOTE: Implementing your specifications could take a few minutes.

Also, if you get the following Remove Object alert, click OK:

You should now see the following:

16
The program is now set up to allocate precincts or whole counties or communities to any of the 18
districts. Precincts are unassigned until the user assigns them to one of the 18 districts.

Opening Reference Layers (County, Community, & Congressional Districts-2000) to Map

We want to add geographic layers to the map, including county boundaries, community
boundaries, and communities that cross county boundaries (since these are allowed to be
used in their entirety within a district without penalizing the plan for making county
fragments).

First we will add only county boundaries.

Click on the Add Data icon

Browse Look in: pull down menu and

navigate to Z:\ Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\ and
then click county00.shp

Select Add

Note: Other layers that can be added are

communities 2000, communities that cross
county borders, and/or congressional districts
2000 (19 congressional districts)

To change the layer characteristics of the county layer in order to see the county and
precinct data layers together we make the county layer hollow-filled (rather than solid-filled).

Click the county polygon in the Table of

Contents

17
 Click Hollow

Or do it here.

Change Outline Width from 0.40 to 4

Use Outline Color to select a Blue color

from the pallet.

Select OK

The following is the map result:

Assign “Source” Geography Units (Precincts) to Districts

In this section, you will start editing a plan, assign source geography units (precincts) to districts
using the various selection tools, use statistics windows to track statistics, and save edits.

18
1. Click the Districting drop down menu and then click Start Editing.

2. On the Districting toolbar, click the Statistics Window button

Rearrange/Dock the window as you would like it to appear.

The Statistics Window:

POP00= Total Population in year 2000

POP00_DEV= Difference between optimal total population value and the total population
value for each district
POP00_DVP= Difference between optimal total population value and the total population
value for each district as a percentage
BL_POP00= Black Population in year 2000
BL_POP00_P= Percentage Black Population in year 2000 of Total Population in year 2000
for each District
PRES_DEM= Presidential results voting Democrat in 2000
PRES_REP= Presidential results voting Republican in 2000

Note that there are 3 tabs. The following tables are examples of the 3 types of viewable statistics
while districting.

The Current Statistics tab displays statistics as they are currently assigned to districts (Before
highlighted precincts are assigned). The statistics are updated when source geography units are
assigned to a district.

19
The Proposed Statistics tab displays statistics as they will become if the selected source geography
units are assigned to the selected district. This allows you to approve or reject the assignment
before it takes place. Districts with a gain are shown in blue; Districts with a loss are shown in red.

D1 (red) = loss
D2 (blue) = gain

The Assigned Statistics tab displays statistics for the selected source geography units for the active
district. This allows you to research different selections.

3. To assign population to District 1:

On the Districting toolbar, Click the
District drop-down arrow and
click D1 (District 1).

4. Zoom in to the northwest portion of the state using the zoom-in tool:

20
5. Various methods to select precincts are located on the Districting toolbar. Use the default select

features tool to select source geography units (precincts) in the map by clicking and dragging a
box around the precincts. You can also use this tool to individually select a precinct. The selected
units will be highlighted.

In the Statistics Window, the Proposed Statistics are updated for D1 based on the current selection.
The map below shows selected precincts highlighted in light blue using the select features tool:

You have the precincts selected but they are not yet assigned to the district. The table shows you
what the results will be if you assign those precincts to the district you are working with (D1). You
could unselect them by using the unselect tool , selecting others, or selecting an area out of the
state.

To continue selecting precincts you can hold down the Shift key - that keeps those already
selected.

When you want the selected precincts assigned to the active district….

6. Right-click the map to display the context menu, and click Assign Selection.

21
The selected units will be assigned to District 1 and display District 1's symbology (pink outline).
The Current Statistics tab in the statistics window is updated to reflect the assignment for District 1.

The assigned D1 population (POP00) is at 56,059 or 574,642 persons less than the optimal
value of 630,731 for the 18 districts.

From the Districting dropdown menu, click Save Edits. REPEAT THE SAVE EDITS FREQUENTLY
DURING YOUR DISTRICTING SESSION SO YOU DON’T LOSE ANY WORK.

7. To demonstrate other selection methods…from the Districting Toolbar, change the

selection tool from Select Features to Select by Line by clicking on the drop
down arrow.

Using the Select by Line tool, draw a line through multiple units (precincts). Single-click at the
beginning of the line and double-click to end the line. The selected units will be highlighted (Blue

22
color). Right-click in the selection on the map, then click Assign the selection. The selected area
will be highlighted in a pink outline.

Try using the different selection options from the select tool drop down menu --- select by

polygon , select by circle , select by attributes

8. Continue making assignments to D1 until the optimal target POP_00 value is met (or close) by
viewing the Current Statistics or Proposed Statistics in the Statistics Window. Use the deviation
column in the Statistics Window to help determine if you are over or under the optimal target value.

Did you remember to save your district assignments frequently? From the Districting dropdown
menu, click Save Edits.

9. You can change you mind or correct mistakes by specifying another district to which to reassign
previously assigned precincts. You have not yet made the plan final.

10. Selecting and assigning precincts in this way is slow, tedious and subject to error, and because
you may want to keep whole counties or communities in a district you should know how to use the
“Select by Attribute” function.5

To select precincts based on an attribute (e.g., selecting all precincts that are in Cuyahoga County)
do the following steps.

First, open the attribute table for County00:

Right click county00

Click Open Attribute Table

This opens the table where you can determine the county code field value for Cuyahoga County.

5
Appendix B shows the population of the 88 counties. This can help to decide what the consequences will be when adding an
entire county to a district.
23
 In the county00 table:

The CNTY_CODE field contains a

value of 18 for Cuyahoga County

In the Precincts00w_data table (open it as you did for the county attribute table above), determine
the field that contains the corresponding county values:

In the precincts00w_data table:

The COUNTY field contains county

codes. The COUNTY value of 18
represents Cuyahoga County.

To select the precincts that are in Cuyahoga County:

Right-click on the map and click Select By Attributes.

The Select Source Geography by Attribute appears.

24
 Double click DX_SGDATA_1.COUNTY
in the Fields box.

Select the equals (=) operator (one click),

and double click ‘18’ under Unique

Values.

Note the selection specification you

created.

Note also that you can add an “Or” and

DX_SGDATA_1.COUNTY = another
county code etcetera to select more than
one county at a time.

Click Apply.

Click Close to close the Select Source

Geography by Attribute window

Results are precincts that are in Cuyahoga

County - shown as highlighted precincts

These precincts could then be assigned to a

district by right-click and Assign Selection.

If you don’t assign them they will be

unselected when you start using the selection
tool again (unless you hold down the Shift
key while making more selections.

12. To unselect precincts: From Tools toolbar, Click the Clear Selected Features icon,

25
13. From the Districting dropdown menu, click Save Edits:

Lock Source Geography Units

After you have worked so hard to get the optimal target value close to the desired value, you do
NOT want to have these precincts change to a different district by accident. In this section, you will
lock source geography units so the units cannot be reassigned to a different district. To do this

zoom into a district so you can see the more of the district.

1. Click the Lock button on the Districting toolbar and click a source geography unit (precinct)
on the map. Click those on the edges of the district – these will be safe from inadvertently selecting
them for an adjacent district.

2. The symbology of the unit is changed to a diagonal hatched line:

3. Change the District drop list to a different district.

26
4. Try to reassign the locked source geography unit to the different district using the default
selection tool. Notice that you cannot reassign the unit to the district. You can also unlock them (by
selecting the lock button and clicking a currently locked precinct) if you later decide to put them in a
different district.

5. Repeat the select and assignment process for a few more districts.

6. Later, once you have created all 18 districts, you can check to see if any precincts were

unassigned. On the Districts Toolbar, click the Zoom to Unassigned button . If some
precincts are unassigned the map will zoom to them. Select the appropriate district to assign, select
the precinct and right click on the map, then click Assign Selection. If all precincts are assigned, you
have created the 18 districts for the State of Ohio.

But before you get to a complete plan note that additional steps and options below…

Exiting and Logging Out

Exit ArcGIS by selecting Exit at the bottom of the File dropdown list. Decide whether to save your
session.

Saving this ArcGIS session does not matter since the Districting extension does not let the user
come back with any of the layer settings that may have been made in the session – such as adding
county00 or changing its outline width or color. You will have to add county00 and make other such
changes when you start up again.

However, the district plan has been previously saved - assuming you did that using the Districting
drop down in your last session. (See step 4 in Change District Symbology below if you need a
refresher.)

Logging out of the OSU terminal server session is done from the Start menus - just as one would on
a personal computer…

Click Start

Click Log Off

27
Change District Symbology

In this section, you will change the district symbology from multicolor drop line (outline) to multicolor
fill.
1. From the Districting dropdown menu, click Symbology:

2. Change the symbology to multicolor fill:

Note that there are various options in the multi-color fill:

28
3. Click solid fill and click OK.
The district symbology is updated to the multicolor fill that you selected.

4. From the Districting dropdown menu, click Save Edits and then click Stop Editing:

Opening an Existing Plan

To open an existing plan that you wish to edit or to continue to district…

1. Click the Districting dropdown menu, Click Districting Admin, then click Open Plan:

29
2. From the Open Plan screen:
Browse to
z:\districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans\
In the Browse Plan Workspace screen, click
TutorialPlan (Plan Database).

Click Add

Select the plan that you wish to edit, e.g.,

Plan 1 (You might have more than one.)

Click OK

3. The Plan1 Districting Plan will open:

4. You can now start to edit the plan: From the Districting dropdown menu, click Start Editing.
Follow the steps that you have learned to assign precincts to a district.

30
Create a Shapefile from the Plan

In this section, you will create a shapefile from the plan. You have decided that you have created
the best districting plan possible - or at least one that needs to be evaluated for its compactness
and number of fragmented counties and communities. Thus you are ready to determine the
compactness and fragmentation of the districts created. To do this you must create a shapefile that
represents the areas of each district. The shape file will have one record for each district; each
shape has a boundary and related attribute data such as population totals and the other data that
have been summed for the districts.

1. If you are still in an editing session, from the Districting dropdown menu, click Save Edits, then
Stop Editing (Otherwise go to step 2.)

2. From the Districting dropdown menu, click Plan Geography and click Create Shapefile:

Note: You will only be able to select

Create Shapefile if:
- the plan is OPEN
- the plan is NOT being edited

31
3. From the Create Shapefile pop up menu:

Browse to
z:\Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans\Plan_Shapefile

Type the file name that you wish to name your

shapefile. In my example, I named the shapefile,
CD_Plan_JCW

Click Save

4. Click Yes to add the shapefile to ArcMap:

The shapefile that you just created appears

on your map as a data layer.

5. Start with a blank ArcMap before running the Compactness and Fragment Tools.

This is done by opening another ArcMap session. Minimize the current one (click on the “-“in the
upper right corner of ArcMap window).

Then double-click on the ArcGIS icon on the desktop and new ArcMap session will open. Dismiss
the dialog box concerning opening files and then follow the instructions below…

32
Run the Compactness Tool

The compactness of a district is determined by a ratio equal to the area of the district divided by the
square of the perimeter of the district (Compactness Ratio= District Area/ District Perimerter2). A
tool to calculate this value for each district must be applied to the final district shapefile. This tool
will also calculate the competitive points based on the voting data from your plan. To run the
compactness tool:

Click on the ArcToolbox icon if

you do not see the Toolboxes
under the ArcToolbox column.

Double click 1 Redistricting

Competition Tools.

Then double click Calculate

Compactness Ratio &
Competitive Points

Next to the Input box,

Click the browse button

33
 In the Look in: drop down menu:
Browse to
z:\districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans
\Plan_Shapefile

Select the shapefile created from

your plan. In my example, I select
CD_plan_JCW.shp

Click Add

The path to the CD

shapefile appears in the
Input box.

Click OK

The Compactness Tool

begins to run.

34
 After the tool runs, you should see the
screen to the left.
New fields have been added to your
shapefile: SHAPE_area, SHAPE_leng, &
comp_ratio, PRES_CAST,
PRES_DEMCP, PRES_REPCP,
PARTISAN, PARTY, PARTISAN_C
The comp_ratio is the compactness ratio
field. Pres_cast= votes cast for President.
Pres_demcp= democrat cast votes
percent of voters, Pres_Repcp=
Republican cast votes percent of voters,
Partisan= Republican votes cast minus
Democrat votes cast, Party= winner D=
Democrat, R= Republican, E= even, U=
undetermined.

The median compactness ratio and

competitive score are calculated.

The shapefile is located in the same

folder: z:\districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans\
Plan_Shapefile

Click Close

Open the shapefile table to view the compactness ratio, area and perimeter:

Select the Add Data icon

35
 Browse the Look in: pull down
menu and navigate to Z:\
Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\
Plans\Plan_Shapefile

and select your plan shapefile In

my example, the shapefile is
CD_Plan_JCW.shp

Click Add

The compactness ratios can be viewed in

the attribute table:

Right- click the shapefile (in my example)

CD_Plan_JCW.shp Then click Open
Attribute table

The attribute table opens. The new fields with

values are listed.

You can check the comp_ratio to

determine how compact your districts are.
Also, you can see your plan’s competitive
score for each district.

36
Run the Fragmentation Tool

Start with a blank ArcMap before running the Fragmentation Tool.

In the same ArcMap session that you ran the Compactness Tool…

Click File; click New, save changes to

untitled? = NO, and then click OK

The fragmentation of a county is determined by finding counties that are shared by two or more
districts. Then, the county fragments are counted. Wholly contained districts within a county are not
considered to be fragmenting the county. Also, counties whose borders are crossed by a
community (there are 18 in the state – see map below) will not be considered to be fragmented by
such districts. The tool accounts for these circumstances.

Communities that cross county borders:

37
The fragmentation of a community (city or township) is determined by finding communities that are
shared by two or more districts. In such cases community fragments are counted. Wholly contained
districts within a community are not considered to be fragmenting the community. Also,
communities that cross county borders and are containing in only one district will not be considered
fragmented by the county boundary.

The tool that determines the number of county fragments and community fragments must be
applied to the final plan district shapefile. To run the county fragmentation tool:

Double click 1 Redistricting

Competition Tools (if the
Create District County
Fragment File is not visible),
then double click Create
District County Fragment
Shapefiles

38
 Next to the Input box,
Click the browse button

Browse the Look in: pull down menu and

navigate to
Z:\
Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans\Plan_Sha
pefile and select your plan shapefile In my
example, the shapefile is
CD_Plan_JCW.shp

Click the CD shapefile

Click Add

The path to the CD shapefile

appears in the Input
Congressional Shapefile box.

Click OK to run the District

County Fragement tool

39
 Results from running the tool checking
communities indicate that there are
30 fragments, which means that there are
30 community fragments. The shapefile
is named
final_cd_community_fragment.shp

Results from running the tool checking

counties indicate that there are
20 fragments, which means that there are
20 county fragments. The shapefile is
named final_cd_county_fragment.shp

To close the window: click Close

Open the shapefile table to view the fragmented county districts:

Select the Add Data icon

Browse to z:\fragments

Click
final_cd_county_fragments.shp

Click Add

40
 The map here shows the
county fragments.

I also added the 88 counties

to the map for reference ---
To do that click and
browse to z:
\Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\
county00.shp

You can also change the

symbology for these layers
by clicking in the colored
box in the Table of Contents
display.

Note: There is a “bug” in ESRI ArcMap program that produces these results. If you attempt to run
the Fragment Tool more than once in the same ArcMap session, the tool may not work. If this error
occurs, exit ArcMap – Click File, Exit, and then start ArcMap again…click the ArcMap icon, then
run the Fragment Tool again using the tutorial steps for that tool.

Before opening the fragmented communities file, start with a blank document (blank map view):
Click File, then click New. From the pop-up screen, click Blank document, click OK

Open the shapefile table to view the fragmented community districts:

Select the Add Data icon

41
 Browse to z:\fragments

And click
final_cd_community_fragments.shp

Click Add

The map shows the

community fragments.

I also added all of the

communities to the map
for reference.

42
Create a PDF Image of the Districting Map Plan
Option to create a PDF image of your map plan that you can print

1. In ArcMap, start with a blank document (blank map view):

Click File, then click New. From the pop-up screen, click Blank document, click OK

2. Open the Districting Plan:

Click the Districting dropdown menu, Click Districting Admin, click Open Plan,
Browse to the plan database:
z:\Districting_ArcGIS\
Ohio\Plans\TutorialPlan.mdb

Select the Plan: Plan1

Click OK. The plan is displayed on the map

3. Add a reference layer, county00, to the map:

Select the Add Data icon

Browse the Look in pull down menu and

navigate to z:\ Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\ and
select county00.shp

Select Add

Note: Other layers that can be added include

communities (as of 2000) and congressional
districts 2000 (19 congressional districts.

To change the layer characteristics of the county layer to be able to see the county and
precinct data layers:

Click the county polygon in the Table of

Contents

43
 Click Hollow

Or use the Fill Color option

Change Outline Width from 0.40 to: 4

From outline Color: select a Blue color.

Click OK

4. Create the PDF image:

Click File

Click Print

44
5. Create the PDF image:

If the Printer Name is not:

CutePDFWriter

Click Setup

Click CutePDF Writer from the

drop down menu

Click OK

45
 Click OK

6. Type a file name for the map image:

Browse to:
z:\Districting_ArcGIS\
Ohio\Plans

Type a filename: In my
example I typed
JCW_CD_Plan_3_30_09

Click Save

7. To view and/or print the pdf image: Using a file manager such as Windows Explorer, open the
folder z:\Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans and Double Click on the PDF File, JCW_CD_Plan_3_30_09.
This will open the PDF file in Adobe Reader. Click File, Click Print and send to the desired printer.

46
Submit the Plan Shapefiles

In this section, you will identify the final congressional district plan shapefile, compaction tool results
shapefile, county fragments shapefile, and community fragments shapefile. These shapefiles will
be placed in a Final_Shapefiles folder that will be judged in the competition.

In a file manager, such Windows Explorer, navigate to the following folder that contains the plan
district shapefile - z:\Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans\Plan_Shapefile

Select the districting plan shapefile that you wish to be judged. Highlight all shapefile parts6 (as
shown below), then copy the files (click Ctrl-c or use the Copy button if available):

Move to the folder z:\Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans\Plan_Shapefile\Final_Shapefiles. Click

Ctrl-v or use the paste button if available.
The shapefiles will be placed in the Final_Shapefiles folder:

6
Shape files actually consist of multiple files, including one with a file extension of “.shp”. Make sure you copy and paste ALL the
files with the name associated with the .shp file.
47
In a file manager, such Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder that contains the county
fragmented shapefile and the community fragmented shapefile - z:\fragments

Select the shapefiles and highlight all shapefile parts, then copy (click Ctrl-c or use the Copy button
if available):

Navigate to the folder z:\Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans\Final_Shapefiles Select Ctrl-v or use

the Paste button if available).

The shapefiles will be placed in the Final_Shapefiles folder:

48
The following shows the files that are required to be placed in the
z:\Districting_ArcGIS\Ohio\Plans\Final_Shapefiles for competition judging.

Congratulations! You have completed the Districting Tutorial.

Exit ArcMap: Click File, then click Exit.

Logoff of The Ohio State Terminal Server: Click Start, then click Log Off.

49
 Appendix A

Instructions to Download and Install Districting for ArcGIS 9.3

50
 STEPS FOR DOWNLOADING & INSTALLATION OF ARCGIS DISTRICTING
SOFTWARE

1. Log on to your computer.

2. Make sure that you have administrative rights to download the software.
3. Open Internet Explorer or any file manager.
4. Go to http://www.esri.com/ by typing this URL in the address bar.
5. Type “districting” in the Search and press Search button.
6. Click “Districting for ArcGIS” which should be the first link in the search.
7. Click “Download Now” button that is under “Try Districting for ArcGIS”.
8. Under Step 2, click on “Districting for ArcGIS 9.3”
9. Click on register (if your are registering for the first time).
10. Fill out the form and Click the “Register Me” button.
11. If you are already registered user, enter your email address on the “E-mail address” field.
12. Click on “districting93.zip” under “Download” to download the software.
13. Open the Zip file and run “Districting for ArcGIS9.3.exe”

14. The setup will start running.

51
15. Click “Next”

16. Select “I have read and accept the license agreement” and Click “Next”

52
17. Click Next

18. Click “Next” and the software will start the installation.

53
 19. Click on “Finish”

20. The installation is complete.

To Activate The Districting Extension:

1. Start ArcGIS (Click the ArcGIS icon).

2. From the ArcMap Main Menu, click TOOLS, click EXTENSIONS, Place a check mark in the
DISTRICTING box, click CLOSE.

3. From the ArcMap Main Menu, click VIEW, click TOOLBARS, click DISTRICTING.

54
 Appendix B

County Population

55
COUNTY POPULATION
NAME STATE CNTY_FIPS CNTY_CODE POPULATION
ADAMS 39 001 01 27330
ALLEN 39 003 02 108473
ASHLAND 39 005 03 52523
ASHTABULA 39 007 04 102728
ATHENS 39 009 05 62223
AUGLAIZE 39 011 06 46611
BELMONT 39 013 07 70226
BROWN 39 015 08 42285
BUTLER 39 017 09 332807
CARROLL 39 019 10 28836
CHAMPAIGN 39 021 11 38890
CLARK 39 023 12 144742
CLERMONT 39 025 13 177977
CLINTON 39 027 14 40543
COLUMBIANA 39 029 15 112075
COSHOCTON 39 031 16 36655
CRAWFORD 39 033 17 46966
CUYAHOGA 39 035 18 1393978
DARKE 39 037 19 53309
DEFIANCE 39 039 20 39500
DELAWARE 39 041 21 109989
ERIE 39 043 22 79551
FAIRFIELD 39 045 23 122759
FAYETTE 39 047 24 28433
FRANKLIN 39 049 25 1068978
FULTON 39 051 26 42084
GALLIA 39 053 27 31069
GEAUGA 39 055 28 90895
GREENE 39 057 29 147886
GUERNSEY 39 059 30 40792
HAMILTON 39 061 31 845303
HANCOCK 39 063 32 71295
HARDIN 39 065 33 31945
HARRISON 39 067 34 15856
HENRY 39 069 35 29210
HIGHLAND 39 071 36 40875
HOCKING 39 073 37 28241
HOLMES 39 075 38 38943
HURON 39 077 39 59487
JACKSON 39 079 40 32641
JEFFERSON 39 081 41 73894
KNOX 39 083 42 54500
LAKE 39 085 43 227511
LAWRENCE 39 087 44 62319
LICKING 39 089 45 145491
LOGAN 39 091 46 46005
LORAIN 39 093 47 284664
LUCAS 39 095 48 455054

56
MADISON 39 097 49 40213
MAHONING 39 099 50 257555
MARION 39 101 51 66217
MEDINA 39 103 52 151095
MEIGS 39 105 53 23072
MERCER 39 107 54 40924
MIAMI 39 109 55 98868
MONROE 39 111 56 15180
MONTGOMERY 39 113 57 559062
MORGAN 39 115 58 14897
MORROW 39 117 59 31628
MUSKINGUM 39 119 60 84585
NOBLE 39 121 61 14058
OTTAWA 39 123 62 40985
PAULDING 39 125 63 20293
PERRY 39 127 64 34078
PICKAWAY 39 129 65 52727
PIKE 39 131 66 27695
PORTAGE 39 133 67 152061
PREBLE 39 135 68 42337
PUTNAM 39 137 69 34726
RICHLAND 39 139 70 128852
ROSS 39 141 71 73345
SANDUSKY 39 143 72 61792
SCIOTO 39 145 73 79195
SENECA 39 147 74 58683
SHELBY 39 149 75 47910
STARK 39 151 76 378098
SUMMIT 39 153 77 542899
TRUMBULL 39 155 78 225116
TUSCARAWAS 39 157 79 90914
UNION 39 159 80 40909
VAN WERT 39 161 81 29659
VINTON 39 163 82 12806
WARREN 39 165 83 158383
WASHINGTON 39 167 84 63251
WAYNE 39 169 85 111564
WILLIAMS 39 171 86 39188
WOOD 39 173 87 121065
WYANDOT 39 175 88 22908

57