The 2008 presidential election is a great backdrop for analyzing graphs, learning about population distributions, and studying the effect on the electoral voting process. To take advantage of the enthusiasm surrounding the election, the authors conducted two activities in the months leading up to the 2008 presidential elections with several groups…

Intended to aid teachers in presenting spatial modeling to students over a series of lectures and then applying it at various points during a political science course, this paper describes and explains the use of spatial models for understanding voting behavior based on microeconomic theories. (ND)