Fairness in plurality systems with implications for detecting partisan gerrymandering

Bibliographic Data

ID11286227
AuthorsJeffrey T Barton (0000-0002-4167-7953, Birmingham–Southern College, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume117
Pages69-90
Publication date2022-05-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMathematical Social Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0165-4896 • E-ISSN: 1879-3118
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.mathsocsci.2022.03.002
OpenAlexW4220738081
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited18

For both two-party and multiparty elections we construct a baseline standard for fair seat proportions based on three intuitive assumptions about plurality voting systems. We show that such systems are inherently biased against minority parties irrespective of political geography and are thus incompatible with the ideal of proportional representation. The construction produces sensible theoretical and empirical results when applied to U.S. and Canadian elections, and it is consistent with baseline standards produced by certain simulation methods. We apply the standard to detect partisan gerrymanders in a simple way that handles edge cases appropriately and flags expected real maps as problematic

Baseline (sea · Construct (python library · Democracy · Econometrics · Economics · Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution · Epistemology · FLAGS register · Gerrymandering · Group (periodic table · Ideal (ethics · Law and economics · Mathematical economics · Political science · Politics · Proportional representation · Redistricting · Representation (politics · Simple (philosophy · Voting · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Game Theory and Voting Systems · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Artificial Intelligence

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