Math Against Tyranny

Discover Magazine ^ | Sept. 30, 2004 (Originally the Nov. 1996 Issue) | Will Hively

[Mo1]

Thanks for the ping

[xm177e2]

The electoral college also helps to protect us against fraud by sealing off each state from every other.

If we had a direct, popular election, cheating in one or two states that were already heavily partisan (with, say, Democratic governors and attornies general) could affect the election as a whole.

If there was another close election (like Kennedy/Nixon), and one candidate wanted a recount, he could demand it from every single precinct in the country--because picking up an exttra vote, anywhere, would benefit him.

[Gordongekko909]

Ping from the future!

[singfreedom]

Hooray! Finally, a scientific defense of the Electoral College. My father, a historian AND a mathematician, always maintained one of the College's purposes was to prevent the wild political swings that often cause political unrest. Mr. Natapoff's findings seem to verify Dad's long held theory.

[AzSteven]

self-bump

[BamaGirl]

Wow thanks for posting this! Can't wait to show this to my husband!

[decal]

Excellent article, indeed - with one tiny exception not germane to the argument:

"Similarly, a spin of the roulette wheel isn't really random. The laws of physics, the shape of the ball, the currents in the air, and other factors will all determine where the ball lands. But a gambler can't calculate those factors any more than a voting booth can know which candidate an individual voter will choose."

The gambler can indeed calculate these factors, and has:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0595142362&itm=1

[ThinkDifferent]

Show me someone who condemns the electoral college process and I'll show you an idiot who didn't pay attention in American History.....

I regret to say that I used to be one of those idiots. Fortunately before I was able to vote I came to the realization that no, the majority isn't always right. Now I'd like to repeal the 17th Amendment. (It's conveniently located next to the 16th; just keep going with the whiteout).

[rusty millet]

another belated bump

[Gondring]

Bump

[SauronOfMordor]

One big advantage of the electoral system is that it tends to focus candidates into keeping people evenly happy with them all across the country, rather than being able to get enough support in narrow niches to win the popular vote

It works best under a two-party system, which tends to avoid the possibility of a candidate winning with much less than a majority. One dramatic example of minor parties splitting the vote was the Election of 1860. Lincoln only won 39.8% of the popular vote, with his voters concentrated in the North. The Southern vote was split among three parties. Lincoln won in an electoral landslide.

The result was a bloody civil war.

[SauronOfMordor]

If we had a direct, popular election, cheating in one or two states that were already heavily partisan (with, say, Democratic governors and attornies general) could affect the election as a whole.

In Pennsylvania, there's evidence of massive cheating in Philadelphia, which tipped the state as a whole into the Dem column. Good luck prosecuting Philly fraud with a Dem governor

[ken21]

thanks.

[Paleo Conservative]

Here is an updated link to the Math Against Tyranny article on the Discover Magazine website. The original source URL I posted with the article in 2004 no longer works.

http://discovermagazine.com/1996/nov/mathagainsttyran914

[Paradox]

Thanks for the update Paleo! This he is some GREAT reading, for all us wannabe math heads.

[Traveler59]

I am totally amazed that with the number of people today who claim to be "politically smart" have no clue about how and why the Electoral College works.

- Traveler