Apportionment Math: Hamilton, Jefferson, Webster & Huntington–Hill
Compute standard divisors and quotas, apportion seats with Hamilton's largest remainders (RANK.EQ), Jefferson's and Webster's modified divisors and Huntington–Hill's geometric-mean rounding, compare who gains and loses in a chart, reproduce the Alabama and population paradoxes and fill D'Hondt and Sainte-Laguë quotient tables: 8 graded labs on one fictional country. Educational only, no political recommendation.
The first lesson is free — no account needed.
About this course
An apportionment methods course that shares the 40 seats of one fictional country's legislature among its states in a spreadsheet, for students of liberal arts math, quantitative reasoning and political science, teachers and anyone curious how seats are counted. You calculate the standard divisor and each state's quota, apportion seats with Hamilton's largest remainders and RANK.EQ, find modified divisors for Jefferson's and Webster's methods, round at the geometric mean with Huntington–Hill and use priority values, compare who gains and loses under each method in a chart, reproduce the Alabama paradox and the population paradox, and fill D'Hondt and Sainte-Laguë quotient tables for party-list seats with LARGE and COUNTIF. Fictional country and invented votes. Educational only, with no political recommendation. The first lab is free.
Lessons
- Standard Divisor & Quotas: How Many Seats Does Each State Deserve?Free
- Hamilton's Method: Largest Remainders with RANK.EQ Pro
- Jefferson's Method: a Modified Divisor, Always Rounded Down Pro
- Webster's Method: Modified Divisor with Normal Rounding Pro
- Huntington–Hill: Rounding at the Geometric Mean & Priority Values Pro
- Comparing the Methods: Who Gains, Who Loses (with a Chart) Pro
- Paradoxes: the Alabama Paradox and the Population Paradox Pro
- Party-List Seats: D'Hondt & Sainte-Laguë with a Quotient Table Pro