Analyst Notes

Go behind the scenes with our team as we find and make sense of the numbers.

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Why party registration is hard to track

Reconciling 31 different ways to report the number of registered Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters.

A visualization showing the percentage point change in the share of voters registered with a minor party or no party.
A visualization showing an example of statistical data.

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Five foundational concepts for understanding data

To help put that data in context, we’ve identified five foundational concepts that can shape how data is collected, reported, and interpreted. Understanding them can help you get more out of the charts and datasets you see here, and elsewhere.

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Crime

Murder rates: Why do sources differ?

The two sources we most commonly use for murder data are the CDC and the FBI. What gives? Which one is right?
government

The clock on Congressional sessions

Follow us down a bit of a rabbit hole figuring out just how long Congress actually spends in session.
government spending

What makes a "donor state"?

Explore which states are “donor” states, i.e. are sending more to the federal government than they receive.

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