Elizabeth writes in -

When I was a kid, I remember using crayons on a map as the election returns came in, as we tallied the votes for each state. I wanted to do that again this year, so I mashed together a map and put it on flickr to share with my friends.

I put this together from a free map found at http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/usa.html, and the number of electoral votes for each state. You can watch the presidential election returns and keep track as they come in, or you can start coloring ahead of time as you imagine different scenarios.

The number of electoral college votes for each state is based on population figures from the 2000 census. There are 538 votes total. A majority of 270 is needed to win.

Happy coloring!

Full sized image here…

More:

• 2012 Electoral College Map
• Elect-O-Meter