Webster Method of
Apportion
Group 4
Overview and History
• Daniel Webster (1782-1852) proposed a method similar to
Jefferson’s in 1832. It was adopted by Congress in 1842 but
was replaced by Hamilton’s method in 1852. It was then
adopted again in 1901. The difference is that Webster
rounds the quotas to the nearest whole number rather than
dropping the decimal parts. If that doesn’t produce the
desired results at the beginning, he says, like Jefferson, to
adjust the divisor until it does. (In Jefferson’s case, at least
the first adjustment will always be to make the divisor
smaller. That is not always the case with Webster’s method.)
What is Apportionment?
• Apportionment is the specific calculation to determine how
many seats each state should receive.
• ’Portion’ in ‘apportionment’ means to divide.
Calculation Process: Step-by-Step
• Step 1: Determine the Standard Divisor
• By dividing the total population by the total number of seats.
Step 2. Calculate the Quotas
• Divide each state’s population by this divisor to get a quota for each state.
Round the quota:
• Round each quota to the nearest whole number:
• If the decimal is 0.5 or higher, round up.
• If below 0.5, round down.
• Step 3: Adjust Total:
• Sum the rounded quotas.
• If the total does not match the target number of seats, make minimal adjustmen
Advantages of the Webster
Model
• Fairness: Balances over- and under-representation by
rounding quotas both up and down.
• Simple Rounding Rules: Easy to apply with clear,
straightforward calculations.
• Widely Accepted: Considered effective for legislative
apportionment and used in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
Disadvantages of the Webster
Model
• Potential Bias:
• Small population differences can lead to rounding changes,
occasionally affecting the number of seats.
• Representation Paradoxes:
• The model can be susceptible to the population paradox, where
states with smaller population growth may gain seats over
faster-growing states.
• Doesn’t Guarantee Perfect Equality:
• Perfectly equal representation per person is impossible due to
rounding.
Example Calculation
• The Legislature in a state has 44 seats. Apportion these seats to the five
counties below using Webster's Method.
County Population Quota Initial Final
Adams 365,000
Grant 491,000
Colton 253,000
Davis 189,000
Hayes 284,000
Total:
Example Calculation
• The Legislature in a state has 44 seats. Apportion these seats to the five
counties below using Webster's Method.
County Population Quota Initial Final
Adams 365,000
Grant 491,000
Colton 253,000
Davis 189,000
Hayes 284,000
Total: 1,582,000
To find the Standard Divisor, we divide the Total Population to the number
of Seats.
• Standard Divisor: 1,582,000/44 = 35,954.5455 - This is our Standard
Divisor
• Modified Divisor:
Example Calculation
• The Legislature in a state has 44 seats. Apportion these seats to the five
counties below using Webster's Method.
County Population Quota Initial Final
Adams 365,000
Grant 491,000
Colton 253,000
Davis 189,000
Hayes 284,000
Total: 1,582,000
To find our Quota we need to divide our Population with the Divisor.
• Standard Divisor: 1,582,000/44 = 35,954.5455 - This is our Standard
Divisor
• Modified Divisor:
Example Calculation
• The Legislature in a state has 44 seats. Apportion these seats to the five
counties below using Webster's Method.
County Population Quota Initial Final
Adams 365,000 10.152
Grant 491,000 13.656
Colton 253,000 7.037
Davis 189,000 5.257
Hayes 284,000 7.899
Total: 1,582,000
Using Webster's Method, for the initial allocation, we will round the
Quota to the nearest Whole Number.
• Standard Divisor: 1,582,000/44 = 35,954.5455 - This is our Standard
Divisor
• Modified Divisor:
Example Calculation
• The Legislature in a state has 44 seats. Apportion these seats to the five
counties below using Webster's Method.
County Population Quota Initial Final
Adams 365,000 10.152 10
Grant 491,000 13.656 14
Colton 253,000 7.037 7
Davis 189,000 5.257 5
Hayes 284,000 7.899 8
Total: 1,582,000
If the rounded numbers matches the sum of the target seat number(44),
then we are done, if it is Not, we have to adjust the divisor.
• Standard Divisor: 1,582,000/44 = 35,954.5455 - This is our Standard
Divisor
• Modified Divisor:
Example Calculation
• The Legislature in a state has 44 seats. Apportion these seats to the five
counties below using Webster's Method.
County Population Quota Initial Final
Adams 365,000 10.152 10
Grant 491,000 13.656 14
Colton 253,000 7.037 7
Davis 189,000 5.257 5
Hayes 284,000 7.899 8
Total: 1,582,000 44
Since our total is 44, same with the number of seats that we need to
Apportion, so we are done.
• Standard Divisor: 1,582,000/44 = 35,954.5455 - This is our Standard
Divisor
• Modified Divisor:
Example Calculation
• The Legislature in a state has 44 seats. Apportion these seats to the five
counties below using Webster's Method.
County Population Quota Initial Final
Adams 365,000 10.152 10 10
Grant 491,000 13.656 14 14
Colton 253,000 7.037 7 7
Davis 189,000 5.257 5 5
Hayes 284,000 7.899 8 8
Total: 1,582,000 44 44
Our Initial allocation is our Final Apportion
• Standard Divisor: 1,582,000/44 = 35,954.5455 - This is our Standard
Divisor
• Modified Divisor: No Need to Modify
Example Calculation
• The number of salespeople assigned to work during a shift is apportioned based
on the average number of customers during that shift. Apportion 15 salespeople
using Webster's Method given the information below:
Customer Quota Initial Final
Morning 145
Midday 270
Afternoon 245
Evening 500
Total:
Example Calculation
• The number of salespeople assigned to work during a shift is apportioned based
on the average number of customers during that shift. Apportion 15 salespeople
using Webster's Method given the information below:
Customer Quota Initial Final
Morning 145
Midday 270
Afternoon 245
Evening 500
Total: 1,340
To find the Standard Divisor, we divide the Total Number of
Customers to the number of Salespeople.
• Standard Divisor: 1,340/15 = 89.3333
• Modified Divisor:
Example Calculation
• The number of salespeople assigned to work during a shift is apportioned based
on the average number of customers during that shift. Apportion 15 salespeople
using Webster's Method given the information below:
Customer Quota Initial Final
Morning 145
Midday 270
Afternoon 245
Evening 500
Total: 1,340
To find our Quota we need to divide the Number of Customers with the
Divisor.
• Standard Divisor: 1,340/15 = 89.3333
• Modified Divisor:
Example Calculation
• The number of salespeople assigned to work during a shift is apportioned based
on the average number of customers during that shift. Apportion 15 salespeople
using Webster's Method given the information below:
Customer Quota Initial Final
Morning 145 1.623
Midday 270 3.022
Afternoon 245 4.757
Evening 500 5.597
Total: 1,340
Using Webster's Method, for the initial allocation, we will round the
Quota to the nearest Whole Number.
• Standard Divisor: 1,340/15 = 89.3333
• Modified Divisor:
Example Calculation
• The number of salespeople assigned to work during a shift is apportioned based
on the average number of customers during that shift. Apportion 15 salespeople
using Webster's Method given the information below:
Customer Quota Initial Final
Morning 145 1.623 2
Midday 270 3.022 3
Afternoon 245 4.757 5
Evening 500 5.597 6
Total: 1,340 16
Since the sum of our initial allocations does not equal the number we need
to apportion, we will modify the Divisor.
• Standard Divisor: 1,340/15 = 89.3333
• Modified Divisor:
Example Calculation
• The number of salespeople assigned to work during a shift is apportioned based
on the average number of customers during that shift. Apportion 15 salespeople
using Webster's Method given the information below:
Customer Quota Initial Final
Morning 145
Midday 270
Afternoon 245
Evening 500
Total: 1,340
Since our initial allocation was over the number we need to apportion, we
will Modify/Increase the Divisor.
• Standard Divisor: 1,340/15 = 89.3333
• Modified Divisor: 90 – here we increased the divisor to 90
Example Calculation
• The number of salespeople assigned to work during a shift is apportioned based
on the average number of customers during that shift. Apportion 15 salespeople
using Webster's Method given the information below:
Customer Quota Initial Final
Morning 145 1.611 2
Midday 270 3 3
Afternoon 245 4.722 5
Evening 500 5.556 6
Total: 1,340 16
Here, we can see that even with our modified divisor our initial allocation is
still over the number we need to apportion.
• Standard Divisor: 1,340/15 = 89.3333
• Modified Divisor: 90
Example Calculation
• The number of salespeople assigned to work during a shift is apportioned based
on the average number of customers during that shift. Apportion 15 salespeople
using Webster's Method given the information below:
Customer Quota Initial Final
Morning 145
Midday 270
Afternoon 245
Evening 500
Total: 1,340
Since our initial allocation was still over the number we need to apportion,
we will Modify/Increase the Divisor Again.
• Standard Divisor: 1,340/15 = 89.3333
• Modified Divisor: 92 - here we increased the divisor to 92
Example Calculation
• The number of salespeople assigned to work during a shift is apportioned based
on the average number of customers during that shift. Apportion 15 salespeople
using Webster's Method given the information below:
Customer Quota Initial Final
Morning 145 1.576 2 2
Midday 270 2.935 3 3
Afternoon 245 4.620 5 5
Evening 500 5.435 5 5
Total: 1,340 15 15
By recalculating our quota by dividing the number of customers by 92 and
rounding each quota to the nearest whole number, we now have an
allocation that matches our target number for apportionment. We’re done!
• Standard Divisor: 1,340/15 = 89.3333
• Modified Divisor: 92
Conclusion
• Webster’s method of apportionment is a fair and
straightforward way to divide seats based on population. By
rounding quotas to the nearest whole number, it balances
representation, though slight inequalities can still occur due
to rounding.
References
[Link] - This video provides examples
of trial and error of rounding up the number to match the
target number of seats.
• [Link] - This video provides
examples of trial and error of rounding up the number
to match the target number of seats. (Reference)
• Mathematics LibreTexts[Link] ›
Courses8.1: Apportionment – Mathematics LibreTexts
