What Makes
Your Vote
Matter?
Resources for Mathematics Awareness Month Provide Answers
M
embers of the Joint Policy Board insights into the effect of different voting
for Mathematics recently systems on the outcome of an election.
announced that the theme for Voting is not just about electoral politics,
Mathematics Awareness Month 2008 is however; it’s part of everyday life. “Voting”
“Math and Voting.” In a presidential elec- is something that happens in many contexts
tion year, the term “voting” brings to mind not related to politics. In any situation in
national elections. Candidates are vying for which preferences are expressed—where to
attention in debates and primaries, polls have dinner, how to raise money for a char-
are taking the pulse of the electorate, blog ity, who makes the team, etc.—voting in
writers are offering opinions on everything some way occurs. Surprisingly, different vot-
candidates say, and, ultimately, a general ing systems often yield different outcomes.
election leads to the selection of the Resources for this year’s Mathematics
next president of the United States. Awareness Month are designed to help
Many citizens are deeply engaged in explain what makes your votes matter, as
these processes; others pay varying well as how the voting system used affects
degrees of attention. the outcome, regardless of the context of the
Regardless of their involve- voting. At
www.mathaware.org, you can view
The 2008 Mathematics Awareness
ment, however, most people and/or download articles and essays about
Month Poster
wonder at some point: “Does these topics, as well as a copy of the 2008
my vote matter? Is the elec- poster, “What Makes My Vote Matter?”
tion process fair? Are the
The Joint Policy Board for Mathematics
votes being counted cor-
Beginnings and Background
is a collaborative effort of the American
rectly?” The answers Mathematics Awareness Month, held
Mathematical Society, the American
to these questions are each year in April, was created to increase
Statistical Association, the Mathematical
incredibly complex, public understanding of and apprecia-
Association of America, and the Society for
but, fortunately, tion for mathematics. It began in 1986,
Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Each
mathematics and when President Ronald Reagan issued
year, one of the four societies takes respon-
statistics provide a proclamation establishing National
sibility for producing and collecting most
the means to deal Mathematics Awareness Week. Activities
of the materials for Mathematics Awareness
with the complexity of for Mathematics Awareness Month gen-
Month. The ASA took the lead this year by
how votes are cast and count- erally are organized on local, state, and
collecting the essays and other information
ed and how that influences the regional levels by college and university
found at
www.mathaware.org. The ASA
outcome. For example, statistics pro- departments, institutional public infor-
also created the Mathematics Awareness
vides ways to identify, measure, and address mation offices, student groups, and related
Month poster and developed the “What
sources of error, and mathematics provides associations and interest groups.
Voting Means to Me” video contest. n
APRIL 2008 AMSTAT NEWS 15
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