Fairness, Proportionality and the US Presidential Primary Process
Jennifer Wilson
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Eugene Lang College, The New School
In this talk we will look at the apportionment methods that are used to determine the number of delegates each presidential candidate receives in the Democratic and Republican presidential state primaries held every four years. Candidates are awarded delegates in rough proportion to the percentage of the vote they receive, but since delegates are people, the results must be in expressible in integers. We will consider what fairness principles characterize the apportionment methods used in this process, and consider how far from proportional these methods can be.