MATH 1030 - Voting Project 2016

Due:

Names of Group Members:

amalia caamano

6.23.2016

The Iowa Caucuses

Part I: Research the Iowa Caucuses and explain how they work. Your response should be
a one-page (250-word) narrative. Be sure to include a brief history, how a caucus
differs from a typical primary election, and why the Iowa Caucuses play such an
important role in American presidential elections.

Part II: Imagine you live in Mason City, Iowa and attend a Republican caucus for Precinct
W1-P2 at the Highland Golf Course. The meeting organizers ask the voters to
select their preferences for four candidates. The following preference schedule
summarizes the results of the poll.
# Voters
1st
2nd
3rd
4th

19
B
R
C
T

6
R
B
C
T

36
C
R
B
T

39
T
R
C
B

B is Jeb Bush, C is Ted Cruz, R is Marco Rubio, and T is Donald Trump

Use this preference schedule to answer the following questions about various
voting methods. Vocabulary words in bold are defined in the Voting Theory section
in Math in Society .

i. How many people voted?

ii. Who wins by Plurality Method?

100 people

Donald Drumpf (aka Trump)

Part II: (Continued)

iii. Suppose we use Instant Runoff Voting. Remove the candidate with the
least 1st Choice votes and show the preference schedule.
# Voters
1st
2nd
3rd

19

36

39

iv. Remove the candidate with the least 1st Choice votes and show the
preference schedule.
# Voters
1st
2nd

19

36

39

v. Who wins by Instant Runoff Voting?

Ted Cruz

vi. Calculate a Borda Count for each candidate.

205
R: 306
B:

vii. Who wins by Borda Count?

272
T: 217
Marco Rubio

C:

viii. How many points does each candidate get using Copeland's Method?

1
R: 3
B:

2
T: 0

C:

ix. Who wins by Copeland's Method?

Marco Rubio

x. Is there a Condorcet Candidate?

xi. If so, who is the Condorcet Candidate?

Marco Rubio

or N

Part III: Imagine that the members of your group are selected as the delegates from
Precinct W1-P2 and you must agree on one candidate to support at the Cerro
Gordo County Convention. Write a one-page (250-word) discussion explaining
who won the election. The discussion should include your interpretation of your
calculations in Part II and which fairness criteria helped you choose a winner.
There is no right answer (see Arrow's Impossibility Theorem). As a group it is your
job to make a decision and defend that decision in your discussion.