3. Map 2016 contributions to political parties in Michigan by zip code

Uses methods discussed on Nov 14.

Construct a map to illustrate politicial contributions in Michigan to presidential candidates during the 2016 election. The geographic data comes from the Census and the data on contributions comes from the Federal Election Commission. Download the following data files:

• mi-zips/cb_2016_us_state_500k.zip
• mi-zips/cb_2016_upper-midwest_zcta510_500k.gpkg
• mi-zips/tl_2016_26_place.zip
• mi-zips/fec-byzip-party-wide.csv

Filter the first file to pick out Michigan. Then use the filtered layer to clip the zip codes in the second file. That should produce a map of zip code areas in Michigan. The third file shows cities in Michigan and may be useful if you aren't familiar with Michigan's geography.

Once you have the geography in place, add the fourth file, which shows total dollar contributions to political parties by zip code. Add it as a text layer and join it to the zip code polygons. The zip code in the shape file will be under variable "zcta510": the 5 indicates it's a 5-digit zip, and the 10 indicates that it's the area at the time of the 2010 census.

Finally, decide on an appropriate way to illustrate the data: heat map, pie chart, histogram, or something else.