Week 1: Preliminary Research and Project Objectives

Welcome to my first blog post! I am extremely excited for this independent project, formally titled "The Mathematics and Implementation of Election Theory," and the research, papers, and presentation that are to come!

So, election theory (also commonly called voting theory): what is it? This was the question I was attempting to get to the bottom of this first week. Election theory is essentially the study of various electoral methods, but what I love about the subject and the reason why I chose to do this project in the first place is that it encompasses so many other disciplines, including political science, economics, and mathematics. Knowledge is not a monolithic entity: the sharing of ideas between people of different fields of study is crucial in pushing the limits of research and education.

This week, I also created a formal list of objectives of my project, as then I will know what exactly I am working towards week by week and whether or not I accomplished all of the goals I wanted to by the end of the course. Here they are:

(1) Learn more about various voting systems.

(2) Develop a greater sense of the role math plays in election theory and other disciplines.

(3) Formulate my own opinions about which voting method is the most fair and compare this method to the voting systems used in my school and in various municipalities and countries.

(4) Answer the question: Is it possible to have a perfectly fair election?

The final, and probably most important, task that I carried out this week was to conduct preliminary research and get a general overview of various voting systems. To do this, I read Chapter 1 of "The Mathematics of Election and Voting" by W.D. Wallis (one of the texts I'll be completing in the course) and the following websites: http://www.whydomath.org/node/voting/index.html and https://www.princeton.edu/~cuff/voting/theory.html. I looked at plurality, Borda count, instant runoff, the Condorcet method, range voting, and the spoiler effect--more details on these individual topics will come as the weeks go on and I dedicate time to focused research!

For the next few weeks, I will be working through sections of "The Mathematics of Election and Voting" to get more of an overview of the topics, but I'll blog about the specific topic I am focusing on that week. Every Friday, I will be also posting updates, thoughts, and opinions on the material I am covering, as well as some of its real-world applications. So visit this site to see what I am up to! Next week, I will begin writing an article for the school newspaper or the STEM journal on campus and begin research on plurality.

I am so grateful for my school, as it's one where independent student research is possible; my mentor, who is just as enthusiastic about this project as I am and is willing to take time out of her busy days to help me; and everyone who is supporting me and this independent project!

See you next week!