Political scientists, computer scientists, and economists each have different frameworks for evaluating the quality of elected representation. In this talk I’ll present and examine (and in some cases, offer updates to) classical axioms and metrics of fairness and representativeness, from a mathematical and statistical point of view. One theme is measurement: for example, scores of proportionality to voter preference. A second theme is comparison: characterizing how systems of election (like vote-for-one or ranked choice or score-based systems) systematically shape representation. Both of these themes require some attention to models of preference and polarization.
Please contact office@stat.washington.edu to request to view the recording.
