Political candidates, if you are running for office that includes a district number, Congressional, State Legislative, Judicial, and Local, you need to include a district map on your campaign website to provide a visual of your district to voters.
Texas for example, obviously is a large state, people can identify the location of major cities like Dallas, Austin, Houston, El Paso, and San Antonio as well as large counties like Dallas County and Harris County. That being said…
Do not assume all voters will know where Texas Congressional District 32 is located or assume voters know where Texas State House District 133 is located. You may have voters who have just moved to Texas, he or she most likely will not be familiar with the Texas political districts.
As you may know, redistricting took place in 2021 under the 87th Legislature (3rd Called Session). Based on the 2020 U.S. Census, Texas gained two more congressional districts, which now totals to 38 congressional districts. It is important to inform voters about your district because district boundaries have changed.
On the home page of your website, include a link on the menu with “District____” or "TX ___" or "HD ___" or "CD_____" and include the number. On your district map page, describe where your district is in your state. For example, is your district in North Texas, South Texas, East Texas, etc.? Include which counties your district covers and name notable cities as well.
I provided State Representative Janie Lopez's HD 37 Map page as an example. She includes all the counties and notable cities in her NEW Texas House District 37 Map. She includes the word NEW because her house district was redistricted in 2021.
The image of your district should be visually appealing. Only show your district, do not take a screenshot of your district alongside surrounding districts because that could confuse voters.
Here is Texas Congressman Pete Session’s district map as an example. As you can see, "TX-17" is listed on his menu. The map is visually clear, it only highlights his district with the county names in large and bold white text.
Also, when you are campaigning at events, tell voters where your district is located; list counties and notable cities.
District maps provide a visual of who you represent (or who you plan to represent), depending on if you are running for the first time or running for re-election. You need to have a district map on your campaign website as a resource for voters, especially for voters who have recently moved to your district.
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