Provider: Aristotle

The District Match Data Set (DMDS) is a set of five files used to link zip codes from addresses to legislative districts and legislators. The five files are:

• Zip Code to Legislative District File (ZtoD File): The nine-digit ZIP Code to Legislative District (ZtoD) file is the primary file contained in a District Match Data Set (DMDS). The ZtoD file contains one record per zip code for every zip code in the licensed geography. If purchased for nationwide use, the file will contain all nine digit zip codes nationwide. If purchased for a single state, or for multiple states, multiple ZtoD files will be used. One separate and distinct file for each state licensed.
• Census File: The Census file contains state, county, and equivalent names for the licensed geography. The state, county and equivalent name for the location of a zip code contained in the ZtoD file can be determined by using the Census file.
• Legislative District Name Code File: The Legislative District Name Code file contains legislative district names for the licensed geography. A legislative district name associated with a zip code contained in the ZtoD file can be determined by using the Legislative District Name Code file.
• Legislator Identification File: The Legislator Identification file contains legislator names, contact information and committee / subcommittee code assignments for legislators in the licensed geography. The names, contact information and committee / subcommittee code assignments associated with a zip code contained in the ZtoD file can be determined by using the Legislator Identification file.
• Committee / Subcommittee File: The Committee / Subcommittee file contains committee / subcommittee names. The committee / subcommittee name for a committee / subcommittee code contained in the Legislator Identification file can be determined by using the Committee / Subcommittee file.

Available formats include .dbf, fixed text, and comma-delimited text. Please contact us for pricing information.

Linking to the ZtoD File Examples

Example 1

The example below illustrates linking an address file to the ZtoD file, and the ZtoD File to the Legislative District Name Code File for the US Senate. The process is the same to link the ZtoD File to Legislator(s) in the Legislator Identification File.

Note: The District Type Code “0” and the District Code “000” must be supplied by the application accessing the data files.

Example 2

The example below illustrates linking an Address File to the ZtoD File, and, the ZtoD File to the Legislative District Name Code File for a District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Process is the same to link the ZtoD File to a Legislator in the Legislator Identification File.

Note: The District Type Code “1” must be supplied by the application program accessing the data files. The application program must also create a three-position District Code by adding (concatenating) the character zero in front of the Congressional District Code contained in the ZtoD File. This is required only for U.S. House of Representatives.

Example 3

The example below illustrates linking an address file to the ZtoD File, and, the Ztod File to the Legislative District Name Code File for a District in the State Upper Legislature. The process is the same to link the ZtoD File to Legislator(s) in the Legislator Identification File.

Note: The District Type Code “2” must be supplied by the application accessing the data files.

Example 4

The example below illustrates linking an address file to the ZtoD File, and, the Ztod File to the Legislative District Name Code File for a District in the State Lower Legislature. The process is the same to link the ZtoD File to Legislator(s) in the Legislator Identification File.

Note: The District Type Code “3” must be supplied by the application accessing the data files.

ZtoD File

Nine-Digit Zip Code to Legislative District (ZtoD) File Layout

Field	Type	Length	Position	Description
ZIP Code	Character	9	01-09	The 9-digit ZIP code
Congressional District Code	Character	2	10-11	Code to identify the U.S. Congressional District
State Upper District Code	Character	3	12-14	Code to identify the State Upper Legislative District
State Lower District Code	Character	3	15-17	Code to identify the State Lower Legislative District
State Census Code	Character	2	18-19	Code used by the Census Bureau to identify the U.S. State
County Census Code	Character	3	20-22	Code used by the Census Bureau to identify the County
Centroid Type	Character	1	23-23	Code to identify the how the zip code was assigned to the Legislative Districts
Record Type	Character	2	24-25	Code to identify the address type for the zip code
Peculiarity Flag	Character	1	26-26	Code to identify if the zip code is assigned to more than one legislative district

DMDS Distribution Naming Convention

The ZtoD filename for a nationwide District Match Data Set (DMDS) will have a two-position release number embedded in the filename and will begin with US. For example the nationwide DMDS ZtoD filename for release 6.2 will begin with US62ZD, and for release 7.0 will begin with US70ZD.

The ZtoD filename for a Single State DMDS will have a two-position release number embedded and will begin with the state name abbreviation. For example UT70ZD is the ZtoD filename for Utah and contains data for release 7.0.

The filename extension will be .DBF for a dbase III compatible file or .LDS for fixed length fields, fixed length records.

Using the ZtoD File to Access Other Files in the DMDS

The zip to district file will be the first LDS DMDS file accessed to determine the legislative district(s) for a nine digit zip. Once a nine digit zip code is found in the ZtoD file, the keys identified below can be created to access other files in the LDS District Match Data Set (DMDS). Some of the information used in the keys is retrieved from the ZtoD file while the application program accessing the DMDS files must supply other information.

DMDS File Accessed	Data Supplied from the ZtoD or Application	Source	Data Retrieved
Census File	State Census Code	ZtoD File	State Name
	“000” as the County Census Code	Application Program	State Name
Census File	State Census Code	ZtoD File	County Name
	State Census Code	County Census Code	County Name
Legislative District Name Code Table	State Census Code	ZtoD File	US Senate District Text Name
	“0” as the District Type Code	Application Program	US Senate District Text Name
	“000” as the District Type Code	Application Program	US Senate District Text Name
Legislative District Name Code Table	State Census Code	ZtoD File	US Congressional District Text Name
	“1” as the District Type Code	Application Program	US Congressional District Text Name
	“0” application supplied concatenated with the 2-position Congressional District Code	Application Program with ZtoD File	US Congressional District Text Name
Legislative District Name Code Table	State Census Code	ZtoD File	State Upper Legislative Chamber District Text Name
	“2” application supplied District Type Code	Application Program	State Upper Legislative Chamber District Text Name
	State Upper District Code	ZtoD File	State Upper Legislative Chamber District Text Name
Legislative District Name Code Table	State Census Code	ZtoD File	State Lower Legislative Chamber District Text Name
	“3” application supplied District Type Code	Application Program	State Lower Legislative Chamber District Text Name
	State Lower District Code	ZtoD File	State Lower Legislative Chamber District Text Name
Legislator Identification File	State Census Code	ZtoD File	US Senate Legislator Information
	“0” as the District Type Code	Application Program	US Senate Legislator Information
	“000” as the District Code	Application Program	US Senate Legislator Information
Legislator Identification File	State Census Code	ZtoD File	US Congressional Legislator Information
	“1” as the District Type Code	Application Program	US Congressional Legislator Information
	“0” application supplied concatenated with the 2-position Congressional District Code	Application Program with ZtoD File	US Congressional Legislator Information
Legislator Identification File	State Census Code	ZtoD File	State Upper Legislative Chamber Legislator Information
	“2” as the District Type Code	Application Program	State Upper Legislative Chamber Legislator Information
	State Upper District Code	ZtoD File	State Upper Legislative Chamber Legislator Information
Legislator Identification File	State Census Code	ZtoD File	State Lower Legislative Chamber Legislator Information
	“3” as the District Type Code	Application Program	State Lower Legislative Chamber Legislator Information
	State Lower District Code	Application Program	State Lower Legislative Chamber Legislator Information
Legislator Identification File	State Census Code	ZtoD File	State Governor Information
	“7” as the District Type Code	Application Program	State Governor Information
	“000” as the District Code	Application Program	State Governor Information

Additional Information About the Codes Contained in the ZtoD File

The tables below define the codes contained in the Centroid Type, Record Type and Peculiarity Flag fields in the ZtoD File.

Centroid Type

Code	Definition
1	The ZIP+4 was geographically assigned by the ZIP+4 boundary.
2	The ZIP+4 was geographically assigned by the ZIP+2 boundary.
3	The ZIP+4 was geographically assigned by the five-digit ZIP code boundary.

Record Type

Code	Definition
00	The plus four of the zip code is 0000. The district assignments are for the center of the five digit zip code.
10	The zip plus four is for a street.
14	The zip plus four is for a PO Box. The District assignments will be for the location of Post Office.
18	The zip plus for is for a Rural Route Address.
20	The zip plus four is for a commercial building, apartment complex, high-rise building, a wing or floor of a building or location other then a standard street.
21	The zip code is for a firm receiving large amounts of mail at one location. Many zip plus fours may be delivered to the same location and sorted by the plus four by a mail room for distribution to other locations.
22	The plus four of the zip code identifies delivery to the Postmaster for the Zip Code.
16	The plus four of the zip code identifies General Delivery for the Zip Code.

Peculiarity Flag

Code	Definition
!	The location of the zip plus four is in one district.
*	The location of the zip plus four is in more then one district. A single district assignment was selected.

Census File

The Census File

Field	Type	Length	Position	Description
State Census Code	Character	2	01-02	Code used by the Census Bureau to identify the U.S. State
County Census Code	Character	3	03-05	Code used by the Census Bureau to identify the County
Name	Character	50	06-55	Name assigned to the State / County Census Code
End of Record Marker	Character	1	56-56	Identifies the end of the record “<” constant

DMDS Distribution Naming Convention

The Census file filename for a nationwide DMDS file will be CENSUS.

The Census file filename for a single state DMDS will begin with the state name abbreviation. For example the census filename for a Utah DMDS will be UTCENSUS.

The filename extension will be .DBF for a dbase III compatible file or .LDS for fixed length fields, fixed length records.

Name Code File

The Legislative District Name Code File

Field	Type	Length	Position	Description
State Census Code	Character	2	01-02	Code used by the Census Bureau to identify the U.S. State
District Type Code	Character	1	03-03	Code used to identify the legislative chamber
District Code	Character	3	04-06	Code used to identify the district for the legislative chamber
District Name	Character	50	07-56	The text name of the legislative district
End of Record Marker	Character	1	57-57	Identifies the end of record marker “<” constant

DMDS Distribution Naming Convention

The Legislative District Name Code file filename for a nationwide DMDS file will be LDCODE.

The Legislative District Name Code file filename for a single state DMDS will begin with the state name abbreviation. For example the Legislator District Name Code file filename for a Utah DMDS will be UTLDCOD.

The filename extension will be .DBF for a dbase III compatible file or .LDS for fixed length fields, fixed length records.

Legislator ID File

The Legislator Identification File

Field	Type	Length	Position	Description
State Census Code	Character	2	001-002	Code used by the Census Bureau to identify the U.S. State
District Type Code	Character	1	003-003	Code used to identify the legislative chamber
District Code	Character	3	004-006	Code used to identify the district for the legislative chamber
Legislator Identification Number	Character	6	007-012	A unique number assigned to the legislator by LDS and maintained by LDS
Title of Legislator	Character	15	013-027	Legislator’s Title
First Name of Legislator	Character	12	028-039	Legislator’s First Name
Middle Name of Legislator	Character	12	040-051	Legislator’s Middle Name
Last Name of Legislator	Character	20	052-071	Legislator’s Last Name
Suffix of Legislator Name	Character	3	072-074	Legislator’s Name Suffix
Party Affiliation	Character	3	075-077	Legislator’s Party Affiliation
Gender	Character	1	078-078	Legislator’s Gender
District Office Address Line 1	Character	40	079-118	Address Line 1 for the Legislator’s District Office Address
District Office Address Line 2	Character	40	119-158	Address Line 2 for the Legislator’s District Office Address
District Office Address City	Character	20	159-178	City for the Legislator’s District Office Address
District Office Address State Abbreviation	Character	2	179-180	State Abbreviation for the Legislator’s District Office Address
District Office Address Zip+4	Character	9	181-189	Zip+4 for the Legislator’s District Office Address
District Office Voice Telephone Number	Character	10	190-199	Voice telephone number for the Legislator’s District Office
District Office Facsimile Telephone Number	Character	10	200-209	Facsimile telephone number for the Legislator’s District Office
Capitol Office Address Line 1	Character	40	210-249	Address Line 1 for the Legislator’s Capitol Office Address
Capitol Office Address Line 2	Character	40	250-289	Address Line 2 for the Legislator’s Capitol Office Address
Capitol Office Address City	Character	20	290-309	City for the Legislator’s Capitol Office Address
Capitol Office Address State Abbreviation	Character	2	310-311	State Abbreviation for the Legislator’s Capitol Office Address
Capitol Office Address Zip+4	Character	9	312-320	Zip+4 the Legislator’s Capitol Office Address
Capitol Office Voice Telephone Number	Character	10	321-330	Voice telephone number for the Legislator’s Capitol Office
Capitol Office Facsimile Telephone Number	Character	10	331-340	Facsimile telephone number for the Legislator’s Capitol Office
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 1	Character	8	341-348	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #1 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 2	Character	8	349-356	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #2 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 3	Character	8	357-364	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #3 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 4	Character	8	365-372	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #4 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 5	Character	8	373-380	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #5 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 6	Character	8	381-388	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #6 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 7	Character	8	389-396	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #7 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 8	Character	8	397-404	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #8 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 9	Character	8	405-412	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #9 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 10	Character	8	413-420	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #10 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 11	Character	8	421-428	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #11 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 12	Character	8	429-436	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #12 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 13	Character	8	437-444	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #13 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 14	Character	8	445-452	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #14 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 15	Character	8	453-460	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #15 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 16	Character	8	461-468	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #16 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 17	Character	8	469-476	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #17 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 18	Character	8	477-484	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #18 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 19	Character	8	485-492	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #19 *
Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment 20	Character	8	493-500	Legislator Committee / Subcommittee Code Assignment #20 *
Email Address	Character	50	501-550	Legislator’s Email Address
World Wide Web Address	Character	50	551-600	Legislator’s World Wide Web Address
End of Record Marker	Character	1	601-601	Identifies the end of the record “<” constant

* Committee / Subcommittee Code: The 8 position Committee / Subcommittee Code is a combination of three fields. The fields are; a two-position State Census Code, a one-position Committee Type Code, and a five-position Committee / Subcommittee Identification Code. These three fields are the first three fields in the Committee / Subcommittee file. The Committee / Subcommittee name for a committee / subcommittee code contained in the Legislator Identification file can be obtained by linking the committee / subcommittee codes to the first three fields in the Committee / Subcommittee file.

DMDS Distribution Naming Convention

The Legislator Identification file filename for a nationwide DMDS file will be LEGIDYY.

The Legislative Identification file filename for a single state DMDS will begin with the state name abbreviation. For example the Legislator Identification filename for a Utah DMDS will be UTLEGYY.

The filename extension will be .DBF for a dbase III compatible file or .LDS for fixed length fields, fixed length records.

Committee File

The Committee / Subcommittee File

Field	Type	Length	Position	Description
State Census Code	Character	2	001-002	Code used by the Census Bureau to identify the U.S. State
Committee / Subcommittee Type Code	Character	1	003-003	Code used to identify the type of committee / subcommittee (i.e. Federal, State, Joint)
Committee / Subcommittee Code	Character	5	004-008	Code used to identify the Committee / Subcommittee
Committee / Subcommittee Name	Character	105	009-113	The text name of the Committee / Subcommittee
End of Record Marker	Character	1	114-114	Identifies the end of record marker“<” constant

Committee / Subcommittee File DMDS Distribution Naming Convention

The Committee / Subcommittee file filename for a nationwide DMDS file will be CMTTE.

The Committee / Subcommittee file filename for a single state DMDS will begin with the state name abbreviation. For example the Committee / Subcommittee file filename for a Utah DMDS will be UTCMTTE.

The filename extension will be .DBF for a dbase III compatible file or .LDS for fixed length fields, fixed length records.

Please contact us for pricing information.