What makes Felix Gonda’s Balance of Power graphic worth highlighting is that it displays a massive amount of information–156 years of presidential elections by state, electorate, and popular vote, plus the political allegiance of each member of Congress–in a way that is both comprehensible and compelling. In short, it’s an impressive feat of data visualization. Explore it! How it works: Drag the knob over the timeline to watch the balance of power shift. The pie chart in the center traces presidential elections, and the ring of stars outside shows how each state voted (you can also mouse over each star to see the voting breakdown in that state). The two rings beyond that show seats in the House and Senate:
