Slide 3 of 26
Notes:
Due to the large size of many of these files, they have been compressed in order to speed the
downloading process. The compression ratio varies from about 80% to 95%.
The README file in the FTP directory provides estimated file sizes for each state, both zipped
and unzipped. It’s also important to remember that there is no software provided with the FTP files.
No actual software is provided with the file. We will talk later in the presentation about the software needed to unzip the files.
Even with the zipped files, a download of an average state of the redistricting data (at 56K bps,
typical for a home computer with a modem) will take approximately 2 hours. Larger states, of course,
will take longer. Our estimate for an FTP download for California is approximately 8 hours at the 56K bps
speed.
If you have a modem/telephone line link to the Internet, we do not recommend using the FTP option.
The Redistricting data are segmented into 3 files. This is done to accommodate easily moving the data
into the spreadsheet/database of choice. No segment has more than 255 cells.
