Math professor links concepts, elections
Fewer candidates leads to easier prediction of the outcome
Breann Schossow
Issue date: 9/22/08 Section: News
In comparison, the Runoff method deals with a lack of majority votes.
If there is no majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the candidate's votes are redistributed to the remaining candidates according to the voter's individual preference.
Reynolds took an audience vote, and it was decided that the Runoff method was the fairest of the three. Reynolds said that if the Runoff method had been used in the 2000 presidential elections, there would have been a different outcome.
In another example to demonstrate the usage of the three social choice functions, Reynolds used a favorite cereal. Each method had a different conclusion.
Finally, Reynolds discussed the Approval voting method, which allows individuals to vote for more than one candidate based on approval. But like the others, he pointed out that the Approval voting method could go wrong.
Senior Mitch Phillipson, president of the UW-Eau Claire Math Club, said he enjoyed the presentation given by Reynolds because of the different ways there are to look at the data and the description of the process.
Reynolds has given presentations before to the Math Club, the event sponsor.
Phillipson said he was especially happy with the turnout for the event, and that it's important for students to know about this.
"It's important to know how the president is elected."
If there is no majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the candidate's votes are redistributed to the remaining candidates according to the voter's individual preference.
Reynolds took an audience vote, and it was decided that the Runoff method was the fairest of the three. Reynolds said that if the Runoff method had been used in the 2000 presidential elections, there would have been a different outcome.
In another example to demonstrate the usage of the three social choice functions, Reynolds used a favorite cereal. Each method had a different conclusion.
Finally, Reynolds discussed the Approval voting method, which allows individuals to vote for more than one candidate based on approval. But like the others, he pointed out that the Approval voting method could go wrong.
Senior Mitch Phillipson, president of the UW-Eau Claire Math Club, said he enjoyed the presentation given by Reynolds because of the different ways there are to look at the data and the description of the process.
Reynolds has given presentations before to the Math Club, the event sponsor.
Phillipson said he was especially happy with the turnout for the event, and that it's important for students to know about this.
"It's important to know how the president is elected."
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