Auburn, Alabama 2022 City Council Election Ward-Level Results and Candidate Race and Gender Data This README contains information for three files contained within the zip folder: 1. AL22_AUBURN_PBER : Crisp County 2022 Municipal Election Precinct-Level Results and Boundaries 2. AL22_AUBURN_CAND : Crisp County 2022 Municipal Election Candidate Race and Gender Data 3. AL22_AUBURN_BAF : Census Block Assignment File for Auburn, Alabama local voting wards ***AL22_AUBURN_PBER*** ## RDH Date Retrieval 2/10/24 ## Sources The RDH retrieved 2022 City Council election ward-level results from the City of Auburn [website] (https://www.auburnalabama.org/elections/results/). Voting ward shapefile was georeferenced from [PDF Map of voting wards](https://static.auburnalabama.org/media/apps/www/elections/voting-locations/VotingWards.pdf) Shapefile was verified using ## Notes on Field Names (adapted from VEST): Columns reporting votes generally follow the pattern: One example is: G16PREDCLI The first character is G for a general election, P for a primary, S for a special, and R for a runoff. Characters 2 and 3 are the year of the election.* Characters 4-6 represent the office type (see list below). Character 7 represents the party of the candidate. Characters 8-10 are the first three letters of the candidate's last name. *To fit within the GIS 10 character limit for field names, the naming convention is different for City Commissioner. All fields are listed below with definitions. Office Codes Used: CTC - City Commissioner ## Fields: Field Name Description UNIQUE_ID Unique ID for each voting ward MNCIPAL Municipality name WARD Voting Ward GCTC1NFIT Fitch-Taylor, Connie - Ward 1 City Commissioner Seat GCTC1NDOW Dowdell Sr., Arthur L. - Ward 1 City Commissioner Seat GCTC2NGRI Griswold, Kelley - Ward 2 City Commissioner Seat GCTC2NWES West, Paul - Ward 2 City Commissioner Seat GCTC5NMOR Moreman, Sonny - Ward 5 City Commissioner Seat GCTC5NLEV Levine, Sarah Jane - Ward 5 City Commissioner Seat GCTC5NWEL Welburn, Leah Billye V. - Ward 5 City Commissioner Seat GCTC6NPAR Parsons, Bob - Ward 6 City Commissioner Seat GCTC6NPOL Pollard, Phillip - Ward 6 City Commissioner Seat GCTC7NCOB Coblentz, Max - Ward 7 City Commissioner Seat GCTC7NLAN Lane, Greg - Ward 7 City Commissioner Seat ## Processing Steps Visit the RDH GitHub and the processing script for this code [here](https://github.com/nonpartisan-redistricting-datahub/local_pber_collection) ## Additional Notes Election returns were transcribed from [PDF source] (https://www.auburnalabama.org/elections/results/). Shapefiles for 2022 Election wards were compiled by georeferencing PDF map [here](https://www.auburnalabama.org/maps/VotingWards.pdf) and using 2020 census blocks. Census blocks that were not wholly contained within city limits were clipped to the 2024 municipal boundaries found [here] (https://data-coa.opendata.arcgis.com/maps/5a4388c75bcb4487b4444cfd17a1a33e). Some additional splitting of census blocks was done by hand in QGIS to account for changes and anexxations between 2022 and 2024 in ward 3 and ward 8. A list of partial census blocks can be found in the attached Block Assignment File, or in the processing script for this dataset. Ward boundaries were checked against voterfile from L2 dated 07/29/2022. ***AL22_AUBURN_CAND*** ## Fields: Field Name Description Elect_date Election Date Elect_type Election Type Office Legislative Office District Legislative District Canc_elec Binary indicating whether the election was cancelled Cand_id Unique Candidate ID Cand_name Candidate Name Party Political Party Gender Candidate Gender Race_1 Candidate Race Race_1_Eth Candidate Ethnicity Race_1_type Type of Source to Determine Race Race_1_source Source to Determine Race Race_1_conf Confidence Level Associated with Race Determination Race_1_URL Source URL Street_add Street address (if available) City City (if available) State State name (if available) Zip Zip code (if available) Oth_id_1 Other identities of interest (if available) Oth_id_2 Other identities of interest (if available) Notes Note from RDH researcher All instances of Race_2 or Race_3 signal a second or third race category applicable to a candidate. Office Codes Used: CTC - City Commissioner Party Codes Used: D - Democratic R - Republican G - Green C - Constitution NOP - No Party Affiliation One example is: PSL001RHIL Race_1_Eth, Race_2_Eth, Race_3_Eth Codes Used: Uses the exact spelling from the list of possible ethnicities in Appendix F of the US Census PL technical documentation starting on pg. 193 (https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/summary-file/2020Census_PL94_171Redistricting_StatesTechDoc_English.pdf#page=193) Race_1_type, Race_2_type, Race_3_type Codes Used: VF = voter file WEB = a candidate’s website ORG = membership in a racial or ethnic group caucus or organization, or endorsement or funding by a racial or ethnic group NEWS = a news article OTH = anything else Race_1_source, Race_2_source, Race_3_source Codes Used: CAND = race/ethnicity is reported by the candidate OTH = race/ethnicity is reported by someone else, such as a journalist or organization GUES = race/ethnicity is assumed based on a photo or other source of information Race_1_conf, Race_2_conf, Race_3_conf Codes Used: HIGH = high confidence in assuming the race/ethnicity of the person MED = medium confidence in assuming the race/ethnicity of the person LOW = low confidence in assuming the race/ethnicity of the person Oth_id_1; Oth_id_2 Codes Used: CHR = Christian MUS = Muslim HIN = Hindu BUD = Buddhist JUD = Jewish CATH = Catholic LES = Lesbian GAY = Gay BIS = Bisexual TRA = Transexual QUE = Queer IMM = First generation immigrant VET = Veteran INT = Intersex ## Data Collection Notes Please note that although we produced this file to be as accurate as possible, we may come across additional information in the future which may require us to update this file. RDH staff logged data according to the notes above. Staff searched Google for each candidate's name. Staff used candidates' campaign websites when possible, but some did not have active or accessible websites. In those cases, staff relied on campaign Facebook pages, news articles, Ballotpedia or other sources. Whenever possible, staff archived their source using the WaybackMachine browser extension to ensure users can access sources even if they are taken offline. In most cases, candidates did not describe their own race in available online materials. RDH staff relied on journalist descriptions or made guesses based on candidate name and/or appearance. The list of candidates for this dataset was derived from RDH's processed 2022 Auburn, Alabama Municipal Election Returns, with the addition of candidates in uncontested elections. This dataset does not include information on write-in candidates. ***AL22_AUBURN_BAF*** ## Fields: Field Name Description GEOID20 Census Block ID WARD Auburn City Council Ward PARTIAL_BLOCK Binary indicating partial census block used ## Additional Notes Please direct questions related to processing this dataset to info@redistrictingdatahub.org.