MATH 1013

Math in the Modern World

Week 11-12
Apportionment and
Voting
LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Define apportionment, standard quota, and standard
divisor;
2. Discuss and illustrate the Hamilton Jefferson and
Huntington-hill method;
3. Discuss the importance of voting;
4. Define majority votes;
5. Discuss and apply the different methods of voting;
6. Evaluate the different fairness criteria for every voting
method.
Apportionment
- A standard dictionary defines it as an
allocation based on some proportions.
- Is the problem of dividing up a fixed number
of things among groups of different sizes.
- The apportionment of seats in the House of
Representatives is based on the relative
population of each state
- Has its roots in the U.S. Constitution
 Apportionment
Apportionment Method:
 The Hamilton Plan (Alexander Hamilton)
 The Jefferson Plan (Thomas Jefferson)
 Huntington-Hill Apportionment Method
 Apportionment
 The Hamilton Plan
Also known as the method of Largest
Remainders and sometimes as Vinton’s
method.
Standard Divisor (D)
- the number of people/voters represented by
each representative
 Apportionment
Standard Quota (Q)
- The whole number part of the quotient of a
population divided by the standard divisor
 Apportionment
Hamilton’s Method:
1. Using the standard divisor (D), calculate
the standard quota (Q) rounded to the
nearest whole number (lower quota).
Initially, each sub-group receives a
number of seats equal to its lower quota.
2. If the sum of the lower quotas equals the
number of seats to be apportioned, the
apportionment process is complete.
 Apportionment

3. If the sum of the lower quotas is less than

the total number of seats to be
apportioned, then assign a seat to the sub-
group that has the highest decimal part in
its standard quota.
4. Repeat step 3(using the next highest
decimal part) until the total number of
seats has been apportioned.
 Apportionment
EXAMPLE 1
 Consider a country with 4 states and 30 seats
in congress and population distributed as in
the table below.
States A B C D
Population 27, 500 38, 300 46, 500 76, 700
Step 1:

Using the standard divisor (D), calculate the

standard quota (Q) rounded to the nearest whole
number (lower quota). Initially, each sub-group
receives a number of seats equal to its lower quota.
 POPULATION QUOTA LOWER
QUOTA
STATE A 27,500 4.3651 4

STATE B 38,300 6.0794 6

STATE C 46,500 7.3810 7

STATE D 76,700 12.1746 12

TOTAL 189,000 29
Step 2: If the sum of the lower quotas equals the number of
seats to be apportioned, the apportionment process is
complete.
- Since the sum of the lower quotas does not equal to the
number of seats to be apportioned, we proceed to Step 3.
Step 3:
If the sum of the lower quotas is less than the total number of
seats to be apportioned, then assign a seat to the sub-group
that has the highest decimal part in its standard quota.s to be
apportioned.
- In this example the highest decimal part in its standard
quota is the STATE C ,therefore we add an additional seat .
 POPULATION QUOTA LOWER FINAL
QUOTA

STATE A 27,500 4.3651 4 4

STATE B 38,300 6.0794 6 6

STATE C 46,500 7.3810 7 8

STATE D 76,700 12.1746 12 12

TOTAL 189,000 29 30
Example 2
A university is composed of four schools.
There are 350 new computers to be
apportioned among the four schools according
to their respective enrolments. The enrolment
in each school is given in the following table.
Find the standard divisor and standard quotient
of each school.
School Humanities Business Education Science and Math

Enrolment 1250 985 1420 1595

Step 1:

Using the standard divisor (D), calculate the standard quota

(Q) rounded to the nearest whole number (lower quota).
Initially, each sub-group receives a number of seats equal to
its lower quota.
 ENROLLMENT QUOTA LOWER
QUOTA

HUMANITIES 1250 83.333 83

BUSINESS 985 65.667 65

EDUCATION 1420 94.667 94

SCIENCE AND 1595 106.333 106

MATH

TOTAL 5250 348

Step 2:If the sum of the lower quotas equals the number of
seats to be apportioned, the apportionment process is
complete.
- Since the sum of the lower quotas does not equal to the
number of seats to be apportioned, we proceed to Step 3.
Step 3: If the sum of the lower quotas is less than the total
number of seats to be apportioned, then assign a seat to the
sub-group that has the highest decimal part in its standard
quota.
- In this example there are two seats to be occupied and
there are two the same highest decimal part in its standard
quota, BUSINESS and EDUCATION ,therefore we add an
additional seat .
 ENROLLMENT QUOTA INITIAL FINAL

HUMANITIES 1250 83.333 83 83

BUSINESS 985 65.667 65 66

EDUCATION 1420 94.667 94 95

SCIECE AND 1595 106.333 106 106

MATH
TOTAL 5250 ≈ 350 348 350
 Hamilton’s method satisfies the quota rule.
Quota Rule
The quota rule says that the final number of
representatives a state gets should be within one
of that state’s quota. Since we’re dealing with
whole numbers for our final answer, that means
that each state should either go up to the next
whole number above or down to next whole
number below its quota.
 Apportionment
 The Jefferson Plan
-Also known as The method of greatest
divisor or the hagenbach-bischoff method.
-uses a modified standard divisor that yields
to the correct number of representatives by
trial and error so that the sum of the standard
quotas is equal to the number of
representatives
-the modified standard divisor is always less
than the standard divisor
 Apportionment
Jefferson’s Method:
1. Using the standard divisor, calculate the
standard quota and the lower quotas of
each sub-group.
2. If the sum of the lower quotas equals the
total number of seats to be apportioned,
the apportionment process is complete,
that is, each subgroup receives a number
of seats equal to its lower quota.
 Apportionment

3. If the sum of the lower quotas does not equal to

the number of seats to be apportioned, choose a
modified divisor less than the standard divisor
and calculate the modified quotas and lower
modified quotas.
4. Repeat step 3 until you find a modified divisor
such that the sum of the lower modified quotas
equals the total number of seats to be
apportioned. Each subgroup receives a number of
seats equal to its lower modified quota, and the
apportionment process is complete.
 Apportionment
Example
A university is composed of four schools.
There are 350 new computers to be
apportioned among the four schools according
to their respective enrolments. The enrollment
in each school is given in the following table.
Find the standard divisor and standard quota of
each school.
School Humanities Business Education Science and Math

Enrollment 1250 985 1420 1595

SOLUTION:

Step 1: Using the standard divisor, calculate the standard quota and
the lower quotas of each sub-group.

Enrollment Quota Lower

Quota

Humanities 1250 83.333 83

Business 985 65.667 65

Education 1420 94.667 94

Science and 1595 106.333 106
Math

Total 5250 348

We try our Modified divisor to be 14. 90

Enrollment Quota Lower Quota Final

Humanities 1250 83.893 83

Business 985 66.107 66

Education 1420 95.302 95

Science and Math 1595 107.047 107

Total 5250 351

Step 2: If the sum of the lower quotas equals the total number
of seats to be apportioned, the apportionment process is
complete, that is, each subgroup receives a number of seats
equal to its lower quota.
- Since the sum of the lower quotas does not equal to the
number of seats to be apportioned, we proceed to step 3.
Step 3: If the sum of the lower quotas does not equal to the
number of seats to be apportioned, choose a modified divisor
less than the standard divisor and calculate the modified
quotas and lower modified quotas.
- In choosing the modified divisor you must undergo trial and
error method to come up with a correct apportionment of the
seats.
Notice that if we use 14.90 as our modified divisor the lower quota
exceeded, therefore we try again another modified divisor until we
come up with a correct apportionment.

Modified divisor: 14. 92

ENROLLMENT QUOTA LOWER FINAL

QUOTA
HUMANITIES 1250 83.780 83 83

BUSINESS 985 66.019 66 66

EDUCATION 1420 95.174 95 95

SCIECE AND 1595 106.903 106 106

MATH
TOTAL 5250 350 350
 Apportionment
 Huntington-Hill Apportionment Method
-Also known as The Method of Equal
Proportions.
-Used by the House of Representatives since
1940
-Implemented by calculating what is called
Huntington-Hill number which is derived
from the apportionment principle.
 Apportionment
Huntington-Hill Method
1. Determine the standard divisor by dividing
the total population by the total number of
desired representatives.
2. Determine the quota by dividing each
state’s population by the standard divisor
and record the quotient to several decimal
places.
 Apportionment
3. The decimal part of the quota is cut off to
obtain the lower quota. Let n represent the
lower quota. Then compute the geometric mean
of the lower quota and the next higher value
(n+1) using the equation .
4. If the quota is larger than the geometric
mean, round up the quota. If the quota is
smaller than the geometric mean, round down
the quota. Then, add up the resulting whole
numbers to get the initial allocation.
Huntington-Hill Method
5. If the sum obtained in step 4 is less than the
total number of representatives, decrease the
divisor and recalculate the quota and
allocation. If the sum obtained in step 4 is
larger than the total number of representative,
increase the divisor and recalculate the quota
and allocation. Continue the process until the
total in step 4 until you get the total number of
representative. The last divisor used is called
the modified divisor.
 Apportionment
Example
A college offers tutoring in Math, English, Chemistry, and
Biology. The new number of students enrolled in each
subject is listed below. The college can only afford to hire
22 tutors. Using Huntington-hill’s method, determine the
apportionment of the tutors .

Subject Math English Chemistry Biology

Enrollment 380 240 105 55

Step 1: Determine the standard divisor by dividing the
total population by the total number of desired
representatives.
Step 2: Determine the quota by dividing each
state’s population by the standard divisor and
record the quotient to several decimal places.
Step 3: The decimal part of the quota is cut off to obtain the lower quota.
Let n represent the lower quota. Then compute the geometric mean of the
lower quota and the next higher value (n+1) using the equation .

Enrollment Quota Lower quota Geometric

mean
Math 380 10.718 10 10.488
English 240 6.769 6 6.481
Chemistry 105 2.962 2 2.449
Biology 55 1.551 1 1.414
Total
Step 4: If the quota is larger than the geometric mean, round up the
quota. If the quota is smaller than the geometric mean, round down
the quota. Then, add up the resulting whole numbers to get the initial
allocation.
Enrollment Quota Lower quota Geometric Final
mean allocation
Math 380 10.718 10 10.488 11
English 240 6.769 6 6.481 7
Chemistry 105 2.962 2 2.449 3
Biology 55 1.551 1 1.414 2
Total 780 23

- Since the sum of the final allocation does not equal to the
number of seats to be apportioned, we proceed to step 5.
Step 5: If the sum obtained in step 4 is less than the total
number of representatives, decrease the divisor and
recalculate the quota and allocation. If the sum obtained in
step 4 is larger than the total number of representative,
increase the divisor and recalculate the quota and
allocation. Continue the process until the total in step 4
until you get the total number of representative. The last
divisor used is called the modified divisor.
Solution: By the trial and error method we choose our modified divisor to
be 37.

Enrollment Quota Lower quota Geometric Final

mean allocation
Math 380 10.270 10 10.488 10

English 240 6.486 6 6.481 7

Chemistry 105 2.838 2 2.449 3

Biology 55 1.486 1 1.414 2

Total 780 22
Apportionment Paradoxes
 Alabama Paradox
Population Paradox
New state paradox
Apportionment Paradoxes
 Alabama Paradox
-an increase in the total number of items to
be apportioned results in the loss of an item
for a group.
-Refers to any apportionment situation
where increasing the total number of items
would decrease one of the shares.
EXAMPLE
The following is a simplified example(following the
Hamilton’s method) with three states and 10 seats and 11
seats.
divisor: divisor:

10 seats 11 seats

STATE POP QUOTA LOWER FINAL QUOTA LOWER FINAL

QUOTA QUOTA
A 6 4.286 4 4 4.714 4 5

B 6 4.286 4 4 4.714 4 5

C 2 1.429 1 2 1.571 1 1
Apportionment Paradoxes
Population Paradox
-Group A loses items to Group B, even
though the population of group A grew at a
faster rate than that of group B
-Occurs when a state’s population increases
but its allocated of seats decreases.
EXAMPLE
A small country has 24 seats in a congress,
divided among the states according to their
respective populations. The table shows
populations after a 2000 and a 2010 census.
Use Hamilton’s method to apportion the seats.
Population 2000 Population 2010
District A 5300 6800 (↑ 28%)
District B 9900 12500 (↑ 26%)
District C 22400 25700 (↑ 15%)
TOTAL 37600 45000
Divisor :

POPULATION QUOTA INITIAL FINAL

2000

DISTRICT A 5300 3.383 3 4

DISTRICT B 9900 6.319 6 6

DISTRICT C 22400 14.298 14 14

TOTAL 37600 24 23 24
Divisor :

POPULATION QUOTA INITIAL FINAL

2010
DISTRICT A 6800(↑ 28%) 3.627 3 3

DISTRICT B 12500(↑26%) 6.667 6 7

DISTRICT C 25700(↑15%) 13.707 13 14

TOTAL 45000 24 22 24

The population paradox has occurred. Notice that

district A has the largest population growth , but lost a
seat.
 New States Paradox
-The addition of a new group changes the
apportionments of other methods.
- Occurs when a new state is added along with
additional seats and existing states lose seats.
 Example
Suppose a certain city has two districts A and B.
the populations of the districts are given in the
table. There are 100 police officers that are
employed to patrol these two districts.
Apportion the officers using Hamilton’s
method.
DISTRICT A DISTRICT B

POPULATION 10 450 89550

Divisor :

POPULATION QUOTA INITIAL FINAL

DISTRICT A 10450 10.45 10 10

DISTRICT B 89550 89.55 89 90

TOTAL 100000 100 99 100

 Suppose the city expands to cover a new
district – called district C. As a result the city
hires 5 new police officers to cover the new
district, bring the total to 105 officers. Now the
total population of the city is as shown in the
table below.
DISTRICT A DISTRICT B DISTRICT C

POPULATION 10 450 89 550 5 520

 Divisor :

POPULATION QUOTA INITIAL FINAL

DISTRICT A 10 450 10.396 10 10

DISTRICT B 89 550 89.109 89 89

DISTRICT C 5 520 5.493 5 6

TOTAL 105 520 105 104 105

The addition of a new district and a corresponding increase

in available officers still caused a change in the
apportionment of other districts. District B lost an officer.
The New States paradox has occurred.
 Method Quota Rule Paradoxes
Alabama Population New -
States
Hamilton No Yes Yes Yes
violation

Jefferson Upper- No No No
quota
violation
Huntington Lower and No No No
-Hill upper quota
violation
Voting
 Voting
 Plurality Method of Voting
-each voter votes for one candidate, and the
candidate with the most votes wins. The
winning candidate does not have to have a
majority of the votes.
-majority vote: over 50% of the people
voting must vote for the candidate
 Voting
EXAMPLE
A certain national organization is to implement
a new logo. Members were asked to make
designs and submit them for voting by the
general membership. Five designs from 50
different designs were chosen by the board of
directors. These designs were just numbered
and the voters did not know who designed each
of them. A total of 400 members of good
standing were present during the selection.
After voting, the result were tallied.
 Voting

Logo Design 1 Design 2 Design 3 Design 4 Design 5

Frequency 25 48 17 15 295

Percentage 6.25% 12% 4.25% 3.75% 73.75%

Notice that design 5 got the highest number of votes; thus,

design no. 5 is declared the winner.

In addition to that, design 5 receiving the most number

of votes, it also gained more than 50% of the votes cast. In
fact, only 26.25% of the votes were for the other four
designs.
 Voting
 EXAMPLE
A survey asks to rank which country people
would prefer to live.
P = Philippines A = America F = France
Number of voters 75 94 51 12 43 25

1st choice P P A A F F

2nd choice A F F P P A

3rd choice F A P F A P
 Voting
P : 75+94= 169
A: 51+12= 63 TOTAL = 300
F: 43+25= 68
Number of voters 75 94 51 12 43 25

1st choice P P A A F F

2nd choice A F F P P A

3rd choice F A P F A P
 Voting
What’s wrong with plurality?
If there are three or more choices, it is possible
that a choice could lose but when compared to
one-to-one comparison could be preferred over
the plurality winner. This violates a Fairness
Criterion.
 The fairness criteria are statements that seem
like they should be true in a fair election.
 Voting
 Condorcet Criterion
 If there is a choice that is preferred in every
one-to-one comparison with the other choices,
that choice should be the winner. We call this
winner the Condorcet winner or Condorcet
candidate.
 Voting
EXAMPLE
A small group of college students rank the best
companion this coming Christmas.
F = Family B = Barkada C = Crush
Determine the Condorcet winner.
Number of voters 4 4 2 5 2

1st choice F F B C C

2nd choice B C C F B

3rd choice C B F B F
 Voting
Number of voters 4 4 2 5 2

1st choice F F B C C

2nd choice B C C F B

3rd choice C B F B F

F vs B F vs C B vs C
13 to 4 8 to 9 6 to 11
 Voting
Number of voters 4 4 2 5 2

1st choice F F B C C

2nd choice B C C F B

3rd choice C B F B F

F vs B F vs C B vs C
13 to 4 8 to 9 6 to 11

CRUSH is the Condorcet winner.

 Voting
 Borda Count Method of Voting
-Each voter ranks all of the candidates; that
is, each voter selects his or her first choice,
second choice, third choice, and so on. If
there are k candidates, each candidate
receives k points for each first-choice vote,
(k 1) points for each second-choice vote, (k
2) points for each third-choice vote, and so
on. The candidate with the most total points
is declared the winner.
 Voting
Example
A group of students is deciding where to go on their next
trip. The preference table is shown below.
B = Baguio P = Palawan O = out of town D = Drawing
Number of 12 5 4 9 6 10
voters
1st choice O P D B B D

2nd choice D O B O D P

3rd choice P B P P O B

4th choice B D O D P O
 Voting
Number of 12 5 4 9 6 10
voters
1st choice O P D B B D
(4 pts.) = 48 = 20 = 16 = 36 = 24 = 40

2nd choice D O B O D P
(3 pts.) = 36 = 15 = 12 = 27 = 18 = 30

3rd choice P B P P O B
(2 pts. ) = 24 = 10 =8 = 18 = 12 = 20

4th choice B D O D P O
(1 pt.) = 12 =5 =4 =9 =6 = 10
 Voting
Number of 12 5 4 9 6 10
voters
1st choice O P D B B D
(4 pts.) = 48 = 20 = 16 = 36 = 24 = 40
2nd choice D O B O D P
(3 pts.) = 36 = 15 = 12 = 27 = 18 = 30
3rd choice P B P P O B
(2 pts. ) = 24 = 10 =8 = 18 = 12 = 20
4th choice B D O D P O
(1 pt.) = 12 =5 =4 =9 =6 = 10

Total points:
Baguio: 36+24+12+10+20+12 = 114
Palawan: 20+30+24+8+18+6 = 106
Out of town: 48+15+27+12+4+10 = 116
Drawing: 16+40+36+18+5+9 = 124
Under the Borda count method, Drawing is the winner.
 Voting
What is wrong with Borda Count?
One potential flow of the Borda count is a
candidate could receive a majority of the first-
choice votes and still lose the election.
Consider the following table:
Number of 9 2 8 1
voters
1st choice A A B C

2nd choice B C C B

3rd choice C B A A
 Voting

Number of 9 2 8 1
voters
1st choice A A B C

2nd choice B C C B

3rd choice C B A A

Total votes: 20
A: 9+2= 11 (55%) majority
B: 8 (40%)
C: 1 (5%)
 Voting
Number of voters 9 2 8 1

1st choice (3 pts.) A A B C

= 27 =6 = 24 =3
2nd choice (2 pts.) B C C B
= 18 =4 = 16 =2
3rd choice (1 pt.) C B A A
=9 =2 =8 =1

Total points:
A: 27+6+8+1 = 42
B: 24+18+2+2 = 46
C: 3+4+16+9 = 32
B would be the winner by Borda count.

Majority criterion
if a choice has a majority of first-place votes, that
choice should be the winner.
 Voting
 Plurality with Elimination Method
-each person votes for his or her favorite
candidate. If a candidate receives a majority
of votes, that candidate is declared the
winner. If no candidate receives a majority,
then the candidate with the fewest votes is
eliminated and a new election is held. This
process continues until a candidate receives
a majority of the votes.
 Voting

EXAMPLE
A group of students were asked about their favorite
colors to use for their programs.
R = red G = Green O = Orange

Number of 21 13 7 5
votes
First place R O G O

Second place G G O R

Third place O R R G
 Voting

R = 21 (46%)
G=7 (15%) ELIMINATED
O = 18 (39%)

Number of 21 13 7 5
votes
First place R O G O

Second place G G O R

Third place O R R G
 Voting

R = 21 (46%)
O = 25 (54%)

Number of 21 13 7 5
votes
First place R O O O

Second place O R R R
 Voting
 Pairwise Comparison Voting
-sometimes referred to as the head-to-head
method
-Each voter ranks all of the candidates; that is,
each voter selects his or her first choice,
second choice, third choice, and so on. For
each possible pairing of candidates, the
candidate with the most votes receives 1 point;
if there is a tie, each candidate receives point.
The candidate who receives the most points is
declared the winner.
 Voting
EXAMPLE
A small group of college students rank the best
companion this coming Christmas.
F = Family B = Barkada C = Crush
Determine the Condorcet winner.
Number of voters 4 4 2 5 2

1st choice F F D C C

2nd choice D C C F D

3rd choice C D F D F
 Voting
Number of voters 4 4 2 5 2

1st choice F F D C C

2nd choice D C C F D

3rd choice C D F D F

F vs D F vs C D vs C
13 to 4 8 to 9 6 to 11

C= 2
F=1
D=0
 Flaws of Voting Systems
Fairness Criteria
• Majority Criterion
- The candidate who receives a majority of the
first-place votes is the winner.
• Monotonicity Criterion
- If candidate A wins an election, then candidate
A will also win the election if the only change
in the voters’ preferences is that supporters of
a different candidate change their votes to
support candidate A.
 Flaws of Voting Systems

• Condorcet criterion
- A candidate who wins all possible head-to-
head matchups should win an election when
all candidates appear on the ballot.
• Independence of irrelevant alternatives
- If a candidate wins an election, the winner
should remain the winner in any recount in
which losing candidates withdraw from the
race.
Weighted Voting
Systems
Weighted Voting System
- A weighted voting system of n voters is
written [q :w1, w2, ... , wn ] where q is the
quota and w1 through wn represent the
weights of each of the n voters.
- A quota is the number of votes that are
required to pass a measure.
- The weight of vote is the number of votes.
 Weighted Voting
• Dictatorship
- in this system, the person with 21 votes can
pass any measure. Even if the remaining
four people get together, their votes do not
total the quota of 20.
 Weighted Voting
• Null System
- if all the members of this system vote for a measure,
the total number of votes is 16, which is less than
the quota. Therefore, no measure can be passed

• Veto Power System

- the sum of all the votes is 21, the quota. Therefore,
if any one voter does not vote for the measure, it
will fail.
- each is said to have a veto power
 Weighted Voting
A person has a veto power if their support is necessary
for the quota to be reached. It is possible for more than
one player to have veto power, or for no person to have
veto power.
[30: 19,15,11] [11: 9,8,8]
player 1 has a veto power no player has veto power
DUMMY
a player is a dummy if their vote is never essential for a
group to reach quota.
[16: 12,10,2] player 3 is a dummy player.
 Weighted Voting

Coalition – set of voters each of whom votes

the same way, either for or against a resolution.
The number of possible coalitions of n voters is .

Winning Coalition – a set of voters the sum

of whose votes is greater or equal to the quota

Losing Coalition – a set of voters the sum of

whose votes is less than the quota
 Weighted Voting

Critical Voter – a voter who leaves a

winning coalition and thereby turns into a
losing coalition

Dictator – a voter who has a weight that is

greater or equal to the quota

Dummy – a voter who is never a critical

voter and has no power
 Weighted Voting
Example:
In the voting system [30: 14, 12, 6, 4,
4],consider the coalition {P1,P2,P4,P5}.
What is the combined weight of the coalition?
14+12+4+4 = 34
Is it a winning coalition? The coalition is a
winning coalition
Which player are critical players? P1 and P2
 Weighted Voting
Example:
In the voting system [45: 33, 21, 12,
4],consider the coalition {P1,P2,P3}.
What is the combined weight of the coalition?
58
Is it a winning coalition? The coalition is a
winning coalition
Which player are critical players? The critical
player of the coalition is P1