Sec1 1-1 4

Unit 1Sec1.11.4.
notebook August 31, 2023
MATH 120
Contemporary Applications
of Mathematics
Course Content
1
Unit 1Sec1.11.4.notebook August 31, 2023
Unit 1
Election and Voting
In this unit we will study the mathematics of Elections.

We will cover the following 4 sections:
1.1 Preference Ballots and Preference Schedules
1.2 The Plurality Method
1.3 The Borda Count Method
1.4 The Pluralitywithelimination Method
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Section 1.1
Preference Ballots and Preference Schedules
• Preference ballot
A ballot in which the voters are asked to rank the
candidates in order of preference.
• Linear ballot
A ballot in which ties are not allowed.
Not a Linear Ballot

Not Allowed
• Preference ballots (37 Ballots)
• Preference Schedule
• Preference Schedule in Table Form
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• The first is that a voter’s preference are transitive,

i.e.,
that a voter who prefers candidate A over candidate B
and prefers candidate B over candidate C
automatically
prefers candidate A over C.
• Secondly, that the relative preferences of a voter are not

affected by the elimination of one or more of the
candidates.
Candidate B is eliminated
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Section 1.2: The Plurality Method
The Plurality Method declares the winner to be the candidate with the
most first place votes.
For example, if the preference schedule of a voting is
# Voters 12 14 10 8 2
1st A B C D E
2nd D E D A B
3rd B D A E A
4th C C B C D
5th E A E B C
The winner is candidate B because he got 14 firstplace votes,

the most among all candidates.
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Terminologies and Some Definitions
• Plurality method
Election of 1st place votes
• Plurality candidate
The Candidate with the
most 1st place votes
• Majority rule
The candidate with a more
than half the votes should
be the winner.
• Majority candidate
The candidate with the
majority of 1st place votes
• Condercet candidate
The Candidate who win
everyone else headto
head
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Fairness Criterions
1) The Majority Criterion

The Majority Criterion
If candidate X has a majority of the 1st place votes,
then candidate X should be the winner of the election.
2) The Condorcet Criterion
The Condorcet Criterion

If candidate X is preferred by the voters over each of
the other candidates in a headtohead comparison,
then candidate X should be the winner of the election.
Note: The plurality method satisfies the majority criterion!
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Examples
Example 1 The election ballots of Example 1.1 page 4 have been collected into piles as shown:
a) Construct a preference schedule in table form
Voters 14 10 8 4 1
1st A C D B C
2nd B B C D D
3rd C D B C B
4th D A A A A
b) Who is the winner of the election according to the Plurality method?
c) Is there a majority candidate?
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d) Is there a condercet candidate?
e) Does the Plurality method satisfy the condercet criterion, in

this example?
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Example 2 The election ballots produced the following preference schedule:
a) Who is the winner of the election according to the Plurality

method?
b) Is there a majority candidate?
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c) Is there a condercet candidate?
d) Does the Plurality method satisfy the condercet criterion, in this

example?
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Example 3
An election is held to choose a Chair of the Mathematics Department. The candidates are A, B, C, D.
The preference schedule produced by the election is
# Voters 5 3 5 3 2 3
1st A A C D D B
2nd B D E C C E
3rd C B D B B A
4th D C A E A C
5th E E B A E D
a) How many people voted in this election?
b) Who is the winner of the election, by the Plurality Method?
c) Is there a condercet candidate? If yes, who?
d) If it came down to a choice between A and D, which one would win?
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Section 1.3: The Borda Count Method
In the Borda Count Method each place on a ballot is assigned points.

In an election with N candidates we give 1 point for last place, 2 points
for second from last place, and so on.
The winner will be the one who gets more points.

Example
Consider the following preference schedule of a certain election.
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Example
Consider the following preference schedule of a certain election.
# Voters 8 7 6 2 1
1st A D D C E
2nd B B B A A
3rd C A E B D
4th D C C D B
5th E E A E C
a) Using the Borda Count Method, find the winner of the election.
b) Did the Borda count method, in this election, violate any fairness
criterion?
General Rule:
If X is a majority candidate
X is a condercet candidate.
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Example:
In an election, we have 4 candidates (A, B, C and D) and the
total number of votes are 110. We are using the Borda Count
method for this election. A has 320 points, B has 290 points
and C has 180 points. How many points did D get?
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Example: (Critical thinking 1)
In an election with four candidates (A,B,C,D) and 110 voters, using

the Borda Count Method, A gets 230 points, B gets 300 points and D
gets 350 points, who won the election?

In an election with five candidates (A,B,C,D,E), using the Borda
Count Method, A gets 110 points, B gets 150 points,C gets 200
points,D gets 150 points, and E got 600 points. How many people
voted in this election?
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In an election with 40 voters, using the Borda Count Method, the total
Borda points is 840 points. Find how many candidates in this
election?
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Section 1.4: The Pluralitywithelimination Method
Round 1. Count the firstplace votes for each candidate, just as you would
in the plurality method. If a candidate has a majority of firstplace votes,
that
candidate is the winner. Otherwise, eliminate the candidate (or candidates
if there is a tie) with the fewest firstplace votes.
Subsequent Rounds. Continue the process of eliminating the candidate

with the fewest firstplace votes until we get a majority winner.
Example
Consider the following preference schedule of a certain election. Total # of Voters
37
Using the Pluralitywithelimination method, determine the winner.
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Using the Pluralitywithelimination method, determine the winner.

Round 1.
A has 14 firstplace votes
No Majority
B has 4 firstplace votes
C has 11 firstplace votes
Eliminate B
Winner
D has 8 firstplace votes
Round 2.
# Voters 14 10 8 4 1
1st A C D D C
New Schedule 2nd C D C C D
3rd D A A A A
A has 14 firstplace votes No Majority

C has 11 firstplace votes Eliminate C
D has 12 firstplace votes Winner
Round 3.
# Voters 14 10 8 4 1
New Schedule 1st A D D D D
2nd D A A A A
A has 14 firstplace votes Majority

D has 23 firstplace votes Winner is D
Winner
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Exercise 1
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Exercise 2
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Sample MC Questions
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Unit 1­Sec1.1­1.4.

notebook August 31, 2023

In this unit we will study the mathematics of Elections.

1.1 Preference Ballots and Preference Schedules

1.2 The Plurality Method

1.3 The Borda Count Method

1.4 The Plurality­with­elimination Method

Not a Linear Ballot

• Preference ballots (37 Ballots)

• Preference Schedule in Table Form

• The first is that a voter’s preference are transitive,

• Secondly, that the relative preferences of a voter are not

Section 1.2: The Plurality Method

The winner is candidate B because he got 14 first­place votes,

Terminologies and Some Definitions

1) The Majority Criterion

2) The Condorcet Criterion

The Condorcet Criterion

Note: The plurality method satisfies the majority criterion!

a) Construct a preference schedule in table form

b) Who is the winner of the election according to the Plurality method?

c) Is there a majority candidate?

d) Is there a condercet candidate?

e) Does the Plurality method satisfy the condercet criterion, in

Example 2 The election ballots produced the following preference schedule:

a) Who is the winner of the election according to the Plurality

b) Is there a majority candidate?

c) Is there a condercet candidate?

d) Does the Plurality method satisfy the condercet criterion, in this

b) Who is the winner of the election, by the Plurality Method?

c) Is there a condercet candidate? If yes, who?

d) If it came down to a choice between A and D, which one would win?

Section 1.3: The Borda Count Method

In the Borda Count Method each place on a ballot is assigned points.

The winner will be the one who gets more points.

Example: (Critical thinking 1)

In an election with four candidates (A,B,C,D) and 110 voters, using

Example: (Critical thinking 2)

Example: (Critical thinking 2)

Section 1.4: The Plurality­with­elimination Method

Subsequent Rounds. Continue the process of eliminating the candidate

Using the Plurality­with­elimination method, determine the winner.

Using the Plurality­with­elimination method, determine the winner.

A has 14 first­place votes No Majority

A has 14 first­place votes Majority

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Unit 1Sec1.11.4.

1.4 The Pluralitywithelimination Method

The winner is candidate B because he got 14 firstplace votes,

Section 1.4: The Pluralitywithelimination Method

Using the Pluralitywithelimination method, determine the winner.

Using the Pluralitywithelimination method, determine the winner.

A has 14 firstplace votes No Majority

A has 14 firstplace votes Majority