{
  "alt": "Bar chart of the change in the share of votes cast in far counties from the previous election, for the elections from 1980 to 2024. Large rises appear in 1980, 2000 and 2016, at {fact:chg_1980}, {fact:chg_2000} and {fact:chg_2016} points. The other elections change the share by no more than {fact:chg_other_max} points, with small falls in 1988, 1996, 2020 and 2024.",
  "caption": "The bars for 1980, 2000 and 2016 account for most of the rise from 1976 to 2016. An asterisk marks a third-party year, and a dagger marks 2000, whose step starts from 1996, a third-party year whose share describes the two major parties' voters only. Each bar is the difference between the rounded shares of two consecutive elections, and bars above zero are rises.",
  "data": [
    {
      "bar": "1980",
      "change": 8.3,
      "election": "1980",
      "flag": "",
      "share": 33.7528
    },
    {
      "bar": "1984",
      "change": 2.1,
      "election": "1984",
      "flag": "",
      "share": 35.9138
    },
    {
      "bar": "1988",
      "change": -0.1,
      "election": "1988",
      "flag": "",
      "share": 35.7517
    },
    {
      "bar": "1992*",
      "change": 2.8,
      "election": "1992",
      "flag": "Third-party year",
      "share": 38.631
    },
    {
      "bar": "1996*",
      "change": -0.7,
      "election": "1996",
      "flag": "Third-party year",
      "share": 37.9251
    },
    {
      "bar": "2000†",
      "change": 7.4,
      "election": "2000",
      "flag": "",
      "share": 45.276
    },
    {
      "bar": "2004",
      "change": 1.6,
      "election": "2004",
      "flag": "",
      "share": 46.8792
    },
    {
      "bar": "2008",
      "change": 0.4,
      "election": "2008",
      "flag": "",
      "share": 47.3399
    },
    {
      "bar": "2012",
      "change": 3.2,
      "election": "2012",
      "flag": "",
      "share": 50.501
    },
    {
      "bar": "2016",
      "change": 8.3,
      "election": "2016",
      "flag": "",
      "share": 58.7743
    },
    {
      "bar": "2020",
      "change": -2.2,
      "election": "2020",
      "flag": "",
      "share": 56.5564
    },
    {
      "bar": "2024",
      "change": -0.1,
      "election": "2024",
      "flag": "",
      "share": 56.4619
    }
  ],
  "id": "step_changes",
  "source": "County presidential returns, 1868-2024 (Algara and Amlani for 1868-2020, MIT Election Data and Science Lab for 2024); full counts, not survey estimates; shares weighted by two-party votes unless stated",
  "spec": {
    "category": "bar",
    "colors": {
      "negative": "highlight",
      "positive": "accent"
    },
    "diverging": true,
    "format": {
      "digits": 1,
      "signed": true
    },
    "orientation": "v",
    "value": "change",
    "valueLabel": "Change from the previous election (percentage points)"
  },
  "subtitle": "Change from the previous election in the share of two-party votes cast in counties at least {fact:cut} points from the national margin, percentage points, 1980 to 2024",
  "table": {
    "columns": [
      {
        "key": "election",
        "label": "Election"
      },
      {
        "format": {
          "digits": 1,
          "signed": true
        },
        "key": "change",
        "label": "Change (points)"
      },
      {
        "format": {
          "digits": 1
        },
        "key": "share",
        "label": "Share of votes in far counties (%)"
      },
      {
        "key": "flag",
        "label": "Note"
      }
    ]
  },
  "title": "The share rose by more than {fact:big_step_cut} points in {fact:n_big_steps} elections after 1976, in 1980, 2000 and 2016, and no other election moved it by more than {fact:chg_other_max}",
  "type": "bar",
  "width": "body"
}