Algorithm for Hamilton’s method
Step 0:
Calculate the standard divisor.
Step 1:
Calculate each state’s standard quota.
Step 2: ALLOCATE THE LOWER QUOTA
Apportion to each state (for the time being) its lower
quota. In other words, round each state’s quota down.
Step 3: DISTRIBUTE THE SURPLUS
Give the surplus seats (one at a time) to the states with the
largest fractional part until there are no more surplus seats.
Example: (The Clubs Example)
Three clubs are sending their representatives to a student
council. Drama Club has 33 members, Garden Club has 33
members, and Rodeo Club has 34 members. Suppose there is a
total of 10 seats in the student council.
Then, using Hamilton’s method, we obtain:
The Standard Divisor is (33+33+34)/10 = 10 [people per seat]
Drama Garden Rodeo
Standard Quota 33/10=3.3 33/10=3.3 34/10=3.4
Lower Quota 3 3 3
Total number of seats apportioned = 9.
Surplus = 1 seat, which goes to Rodeo Club.
Example 1 (Exerc. 7 page 142):
Bandana Republic consisting of 4 states: Apure, Barinas,
Carabobo, and Dolores; M=160 seats in the legislature.
State A B C D
Pop. (in millions) 3.31 2.67 1.33 0.69
Step 0: Calculate the Standard Divisor
Std. Divisor = (3.31 + 2.67 + 1.33 + .69)/160 = .05
Step 1: Calculate the Standard Quota for each state
State A B C D
Std. Quota 3.31 2.67 1.33 .69
.05 .05 .05 .05
Std. Quota 66.2 53.4 26.6 13.8
Step 2: Allocate the Lower Quota for each state
State A B C D
Lwr. Quota 66 53 26 13
Step 3: Allocate the Surplus
Total Allocated = 158 (=66+53+26+13)
Surplus = 160 – 158 = 2
D gets one more seat, C gets one more seat.
Final Apportionment using Hamilton’s Method:
A gets 66 seats;
B gets 53 seats;
C gets 27 seats;
D gets 14 seats.
Example 2 (Exerc. 9 page 142):
The Scotia Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit Service
(SMARTS) operates 6 bus routes (A, B, C, D, E and F) and 130
buses. The buses are apportioned among the routes based on
the average number of daily passengers per route given below:
Rte A B C D E F
#s 45,300 31,070 20,490 14,160 10,260 8,720
Step 0: Calculate the Standard Divisor
Std. Divisor = (45,300+31,070+…+8,720)/130 = 1000
Step 1: Calculate the Standard Quota for each route
Rte A B C D E F
StdQ 45,300 31,070 20,490 14,160 10,260 8,720
1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
StdQ 45.3 31.07 20.49 14.16 10.26 8.72
Step 2: Allocate the Lower Quota for each route
Rte A B C D E F
Lwr.Q 45 31 20 14 10 8
Step 3: Allocate the Surplus
Total Allocated = 97 (=45+31+20+14+10+8)
Surplus = 100 – 97 = 3
F gets one more, C gets one more, A gets one more.
Final Apportionment using Hamilton’s Method:
A = 46 D = 14
B = 31 E = 10
C = 21 F=9
Example 3 (Exerc. 13 page 142):
A mother wishes to distribute 11 pieces of candy among 3
children based on the number of minutes each child spends
studying, as shown below:
Child Bob Peter Ron
Time 54 243 703
Step 0: Calculate the Standard Divisor
Std. Divisor = (54+243+703)/11 = 1000/11 = 90.9091
Step 1: Calculate the Standard Quota for each child
Child Bob Peter Ron
Standard Quota 54 243 703
90.9 90.9 90.9
Standard Quota .59 2.67 7.7
Step 2: Allocate the Lower Quota for each child
Child Bob Peter Ron
Lower Quota 0 2 7
Step 3: Allocate the Surplus
Total Allocated = 9 (=0+2+7)
Surplus = 11 – 9 = 2
Ron gets one more, Peter gets one more.
Final Apportionment using Hamilton’s Method:
Bob = 0
Peter = 3
Ron = 7
Bob clearly needs to open his books occasionally! JJJ
DEFINITION: The Quota Rule: A state’s apportionment
should be either its upper quota or its lower quota.
DEFINITION: An apportionment that guarantees that this
will always happen is said to satisfy the Quota Rule.
OBS: Surprisingly, some of the most important
apportionment methods (including the one currently used to
apportion the House of Representatives) can violate the Quota
Rule.
OBS: Easy to see that Hamilton’s method satisfies the Quota
Rule.
DEFINITION: The Alabama Paradox occurs when an
increase in the total number of seats, in and of itself, forces a
state to lose one of its seats.
OBS: The most serious (in fact, the “fatal”) flaw of
Hamilton’s method is the Alabama Paradox.
Example: (The House of Representatives, 1880)
The first serious problem with Hamilton’s method
occurred in 1880, when it was noted that if the House of
Representatives were to have 299 seats, then Alabama would
get 8 seats, but if the House of Representatives were to have
300 seats, then Alabama would end up with 7 seats. This is how
the name of Alabama paradox came about.
State StandQuta Apport. StandQuota Apport.
(for M=299) (for M=299) (for M=300) (for M=300)
Alabama 7.646 8 7.671 7
Texas 9.64 9 9.672 10
Illinois 18.64 18 18.702 19
DEFINITION: The Population Paradox: State X has a
population growth rate higher than that of state Y, and yet,
when the apportionment is recalculated based on the new
population figures, state X loses a seat to state Y.
DEFINITION: The New-States Paradox: The addition of a
new state with its fair share of seats, in and of itself, affects the
apportionment of other states.
OBS: The Population Paradox and the New-State Paradox
were met in apportionments done with Hamilton’s method.
(see the examples 6 and 7 from the textbook (page2 131-133)).
Example (Exerc. 9 page 142):
The Scotia Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit Service
(SMARTS) operates 6 bus routes (A, B, C, D, E and F) and 130
buses. The buses are apportioned among the routes based on
the average number of daily passengers per route given below:
Rte A B C D E F
#s 45,300 31,070 20,490 14,160 10,260 8,720
Step 1: Calculate the Standard Quota for each route
Rte A B C D E F
StdQ 45.3 31.07 20.49 14.16 10.26 8.72
Step 2: Allocate the Lower Quota for each route
Rte A B C D E F
Lwr.Q 45 31 20 14 10 8
Step 3: Allocate the Surplus
Total Allocated = 97 (=45+31+20+14+10+8)
Surplus = 100 – 97 = 3
Compute relative fractional parts:
A B C D E F
.3 .07 .49 .16 .26 .72
45 31 20 14 10 8
.006 .002 .024 .011 .026 .09
F, E, and C each get one more (versus F, A, C under Hamilton)
Final Apportionment: A=45, B=31, C=21, D=14, E=11, F=9.
