New quota-based apportionment methods: The allocation of delegates in the Republican Presidential Primary

Michael A. Jones, David McCune and Jennifer M. Wilson

Mathematical Social Sciences, 2020, vol. 108, issue C, 122-137

Abstract: We survey the apportionment methods used by the Republican Party in their 2012 and 2016 state presidential primaries, with a focus on the seven methods that are proportional. All of the proportional methods are quota-based, and all but one are new (or at least previously unstudied). After comparing the apportionment methods for three candidates using simplicial geometry, we evaluate how they differ in bias toward the top and bottom vote-getting candidates. We also compare the methods by how they distinguish among candidates in close elections. We use the bias comparisons to suggest which methods should be used at different junctures in the primary season. We discuss how these new methods were implemented in practice and summarize how successful these methods were in making the Republican delegate process more proportional.

Keywords: Delegate apportionment; Republican primary; Quota methods; Hamilton’s method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165489620300469
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:matsoc:v:108:y:2020:i:c:p:122-137

DOI: 10.1016/j.mathsocsci.2020.05.001

Access Statistics for this article

Mathematical Social Sciences is currently edited by J.-F. Laslier

More articles in Mathematical Social Sciences from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().