A bias over time for small states? I think they are entirely incorrect.
Over time, half the small states will have an advantage, half will be at a disadvantage. example today: Average district: 660K Wyoming: 490K (-170K) Montana: 905L (+245K) The way things are going, Montana will _NEVER_ get a second seat. The 7 single district states are... Alaska 628K Delaware 758K Montana 905K N. Dak 644K S. Dak 756K Vermont 610K Wyoming 495K Total = 4.796M Divided by 66OK = 7.2 seats. (the actual average district size, if anything is smaller, but 660K is fair) So, for the next 10 years, the 7 single district states are _under_ represented. If you throw in D.C (519K, non-voting member, doesn't count) it gets back to about average. The same held true for the last census (actually, it was slightly worse for the smallest states last time) Maybe someday I'll get the relevant section of the congressional record online. ciao for now > -----Original Message----- > From: Joseph Malkevitch [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 7:57 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: Population paradox > > > Dear Readers, > > Like deciding what election method is "best" or "fairest" there are > similar difficulties for apportionment. There are > mathematical theorems > which state that among "divisor" methods, for each of the 5 methods > traditionally considered (Jefferson, Adams, Webster, Huntington-Hill, > Dean), there are optimization functions that each of the > methods is best > for. However, none of these methods guarantees that a state > is given its > "quota" or its quota plus 1. The argument against Huntington-Hill by > Balinski and Young (they favor Webster) is made on the basis of bias > over a period of time in using this method towards small states. > However, one can argue that bias can occur due the constitutional > requirement that every state no matter how small in population get at > least 1 seat, and bias due to the method itself. It's not > clear to me at > least how to sort out these two factors (see paper by > Lawrence Ernst). > Also, if one believes that relative error is more important than > absolute error, and bias need not worry one, then one can support > Huntington-Hill. > > Cheers, > > Joe > > > -- > Joseph Malkevitch > Department of Mathematics > York College (CUNY) > Jamaica, New York 11451 > > > Phone: 718-262-2551 > Web page: http://www.york.cuny.edu/~malk > > ---- > For more information about this list (subscribe, unsubscribe, > FAQ, etc), > please see http://www.eskimo.com/~robla/em > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This message is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the designated recipient(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. This communication is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or as a solicitation of an offer to buy any financial product, an official confirmation of any transaction, or as an official statement of Lehman Brothers. Email transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free. Therefore, we do not represent that this information is complete or accurate and it should not be relied upon as such. All information is subject to change without notice. ---- For more information about this list (subscribe, unsubscribe, FAQ, etc), please see http://www.eskimo.com/~robla/em
