Voting and Apportionment: Section 13.4, Slide 1

CHAPTER 13
Voting
and Apportionment
Copyright 2015, 2011, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. Section 13.4, Slide 1
13.4
Flaws of Apportionment Methods
Objectives
1. Understand and illustrate the Alabama
paradox.
2. Understand and illustrate the population
paradox.
3. Understand and illustrate the new-states
paradox.
4. Understand Balinski and Youngs
Impossibility Theorem.
The Alabama Paradox
An increase in the total number of items to be

apportioned results in the loss of an item for a
group.
Example: Illustrating the Alabama Paradox
A small country with a population of 10,000 is

composed of three states. According to the
countrys constitution, the congress will have
200 seats. A table of the countrys population
distribution is given below. Use Hamiltons
method and show that the Alabama paradox
occurs if the number of seats is increased to 201.
State A B C Total
Population 5015 4515 470 10,000
Solution: We begin with 200 seats and compute the standard

divisor.
total population 10,000
Standard divisor = 50
number of allocated items 200
Using this value, we obtain the apportionment for each state

using Hamiltons method.
Next, we find each states apportionment with 201

congressional seats. Again, we compute the standard divisor.
Standard divisor = 49.75
The final apportionments are summarized below.

When the number of seats increased from 200 to 201,
state Cs apportionment decreased. This is an example
of Alabamas Paradox.
States A and B benefit at state Cs expense.
The Population Paradox
Group A loses items to group B, even though the

population of group A grew at a faster rate than
that of group B.
Example: Illustrating the Population Paradox
A small country with a population 10,000 is composed of three

states. There are 11 seats in congress, divided among the three
states according to their respective populations. Using Hamiltons
method, the apportionment of congressional seats for each state is
shown.
State A B C Total
Original
540 2430 7030 10,000
Population
New
560 2550 7890 11,000
Population
a. Find the percent of increase in the population of each state.
b. Use Hamiltons method to show that the population paradox
occurs.
Solution:
a.
From the percentages, state C is increasing at a faster

rate than state A and B.
From the percentages, state B is increasing at a faster
rate than state A.
b. We use the Hamiltons method to find the

apportionment for each state with its new
population. First we compute the standard
divisor.
Standard divisor = 1000
The final apportionments are shown below. Even

though state A now has a congressional seat, state B has
lost a seat to state A, but recall state Bs population
grew faster than state As. This is an example of
population paradox.
New-States Paradox
The addition of a new group changes the

apportionments of other groups.
Example: Illustrating the New-States Paradox
A school district has two high schools: East High and

West High. The school district has a counseling staff of
48 counselors. The standard divisor is
Standard Lower Hamiltons

School Population
Quota Quota Apportionment
East High 1688 8.44 8 8
West High 7912 39.56 39 40
Total 9600 48 47 48
Suppose a new high school, North High, is added

to the district with 1448 more students. Using the
standard divisor of 200, the district hires 7
counselors. Show that the new-states paradox
occurs when the counselors are reapportioned.
Solution: The new standard divisor is

Standard divisor = 200.87
Before North High, East High had 8 counselors and West High
had 40. After we added North High, East High added 1
counselor, West High lost 1 counselor. Hence, the addition of
another high school changed the apportionments of the other high
schools. This is an example of new-states paradox.
Balinski and Youngs Impossibility
Theorem
Is there an ideal apportionment method?
There is no perfect apportionment method.

Any apportionment method that does not violate
the quota rule must produce paradoxes.
Any apportionment method that does not
produce paradoxes must violate the quota rule.

Voting and Apportionment: Section 13.4, Slide 1

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CHAPTER 13

An increase in the total number of items to be

A small country with a population of 10,000 is

Solution: We begin with 200 seats and compute the standard

Using this value, we obtain the apportionment for each state

Next, we find each states apportionment with 201

The final apportionments are summarized below.

Group A loses items to group B, even though the

A small country with a population 10,000 is composed of three

From the percentages, state C is increasing at a faster

b. We use the Hamiltons method to find the

The final apportionments are shown below. Even

The addition of a new group changes the

A school district has two high schools: East High and

Standard Lower Hamiltons

Suppose a new high school, North High, is added

total population 11,048

There is no perfect apportionment method.

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