Title: AMS :: Feature Column from the AMS
Headings: The Process of Electing a President
The Process of Electing a President
Posted April 2008.
The Electoral College
Mathematical insights into elections and voting
Ballots
Decision methods
Axiomatic approaches to fairness
Manipulation of voting systems
Who studies fairness, voting and elections?
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Content: AMS :: Feature Column from the AMS






The Process of Electing a President
Posted April 2008. The issue of how to equalize the influence of people in different parts of the country in the selection of party candidates is a complex one, which scholars in many disciplines are addressing, using mathematical methods...
Joseph Malkevitch
York College (CUNY)
malkevitch at york.cuny.edu
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Every four years Americans elect a president. Voting and elections are essential for an effective democracy. The people who make up a society get to choose their representatives to govern them and these representatives vote on or administer the laws that affect citizen quality of life on a daily basis. This year, Mathematics Awareness Month calls attention to the role that mathematics and statistics have in understanding the phenomena of voting and elections. The process by which America's president is elected is amazingly complex. Almost as soon as a new president is elected, the "campaign" for the next election begins. Candidates position themselves for support, attempt to raise money for their campaigns, and carry out these campaigns over an extensive period of time. There are caucuses, primaries, debates, and many other steps to wind up on the ballot for being chosen to be president.