What Others Have to Say

The Rose Institute at Claremont McKenna College conducts and publishes research primarily on California government and politics. Using computer technology, students and faculty in the Rose Institute advance knowledge about politics and help create services that make the political process more democratic. The Rose Institute uses Maptitude, Maptitude for Redistricting, Maptitude for Precinct and Election Management, and Political Maptitude. Here is what the Rose Institute has to say about Caliper Corporation in its 2005 report, "Restoring the Competitive Edge: California's Need for Redistricting Reform and the Likely Impact of Proposition 77":

Maptitude for Redistricting was featured in a December 2003 New Yorker Article, "The Great Election Grab," by Jeffrey Toobin. Here are a few excerpts:

I asked [assistant professor of law and political science Nathaniel] Persily to give me a demonstration of how to draw district lines. He moved his mouse to the border between two congressional districts. A ledger on the top half of the screen showed that one of the districts, as currently configured, had about forty thousand more people than the other one. The Supreme Court has said that the requirement of one man, one vote means that each district must have exactlyexactlythe same number of people, Persily explained. An early version of the Pennsylvania plan was rejected by the courts because the districts were just nineteen voters apart, in districts of about a half million people. Requirements for that sort of precision virtually mandate the use of computers for redistricting.

Persily zeroed in even more closely, and a little donkey popped up inside one of the census blocks. Thats where the local congressman lives, a Democrat, he explained. We have little elephants for the Republican incumbents. [Maptitude for Redistricting] seemed easy to use, justifying the boast, on the software companys Web site, that you could start building plans thirty minutes after opening the box. Persily chuckled. At a certain point, you admire the video-game appeal of all this.

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Maptitude for Redistricting was featured in a April 24, 2001 Wall Street Journal Article, "Software Makes Redistricting Easier, Accessible," by Will Pinkston. Nearly everyone interviewed for the article uses Maptitude for Redistricting. Here are a few excerpts:

In New Jersey, when a committee of five Republicans and five Democrats chosen by their parties couldn't agree on how to redraw the state's legislative boundaries, the state supreme court tapped Larry Bartels (bartels@princeton.edu ), a Princeton University professor, to break the impasse. After 10 days locked away in a hotel with the two sides, the professor emerged with a resolution: an entire state redistricting map drawn on a laptop computer, using [Maptitude for Redistricting]. 

Cheaper software is letting independent consultants in the game, too. George Meier (georgemeier@prodigy.net), former staff director of Florida's House reapportionment committee, had to requisition $600,000 in computer software and equipment in 1991 to draft new electoral district boundaries. This year, as a redistricting expert freelancing for cities and counties in Florida [using Maptitude for Redistricting], his overhead is considerably lower: He got everything he needs loaded onto his Dell laptop for under $4,000. And Baltimore civil-rights attorney Samuel L. Walters (slwalters@earthlink.net )is using [Maptitude for Redistricting] to pitch his expertise to minority groups and local governments. Mr. Walters, who worked for the NAACP during 1991's redistricting, says he expects to quickly recoup his costs.

[Caliper Corporation] actually came to market with one of the first affordable programs just after the [1990] census. Since then, Caliper has sold Maptitude to more than half of the country's legislatures and dozens of interest groups.

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Maptitude for Redistricting was featured in a May 8, 2001 Baltimore Sun Article, "Redistricting Options Grow with Technology," by Michael Dresser:

Governor Glendening, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Casper R. Taylor are using Maptitude for Redistricting to carve Maryland into eight congressional and 47 legislative districts. Karl Aro, director of the Department of Legislative Services, is impressed with the Maptitude program the state has bought from Caliper Corp. in Netwon, Massachusetts. "It's light years ahead. The software can do so much more, so much more quickly," he said. " Aro expects his department, which serves legislators of both parties, to be drawing maps for a lot of members this year. The Maryland Republican Party has the Maptitude program, too. Political consultants around the country are also finding the software affordable.

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Additional comments from our users:

"Ten years ago, we did redistricting with software and hardware that was bulky, difficult to use, and extraordinarily expensive. Today, Maptitude software provides us far more flexibility, ease of use, and capability at a fraction of the cost. Following redistricting, we will be able to continue to use Maptitude for GIS/data applications ranging from school bus transportation to land use development issues."

"Maptitude for Redistricting has immense capability -- it's done everything we've asked and more. Plus, our web site, which uses Maptitude for the Web, will provide an easy way for the public to access the redistricting process. The staff at Caliper has been responsive and helpful when we've had questions."