Imagine,
for a moment, that you and I attend Monster Middle School, and our school is
holding an election for School President. The candidates for president are:
Gussy Ghost – 7th grader
Dingbat Dragon – 8th
grader
Vermin Vampire – 8th
grader
Whispery Werewolf – 9th
grader
These
are the homeroom classrooms at Monster Middle School:
7th grade: 5 homeroom classes 20 students each
8th grade: 6 homeroom classes 20 students each
9th grade: 6 homeroom classes 20 students each
Totals: 17 homeroom classes 340
students
On
election day, the students in each homeroom class vote for their favorite
candidate. The votes are tallied and the name of the winning candidate is
written on a piece of paper which is sent to the office.
In the
office, the homeroom votes are counted to see how many voted for each
candidate.
In order
to win the election, a candidate must receive 9 homeroom class votes. This
represents the majority out of 17 homeroom classes. In this election, Whispery
Werewolf, the 9th grade candidate, receives 9 homeroom class votes,
so has won the election. (See Election Results below.)
This is
how the United States elects a President. Citizens vote in their states, then the
winner of each state is represented at the office by electors, rather than
pieces of paper. The candidate who receives the most elector votes gets the
job.
Back to
Monster Middle School. Dingbat Dragon, one of the 8th grade
candidates, objects to the election results. According to Dingbat, the number
of students at Monster Middle School is 340. A majority of these students would
equal 171 votes. Dingbat claims to have received more the 171 votes, so Dingbat
then, should get the job of school president.
Dingbat
is a very popular student at MMS. Brothers and sisters of Dingbat are in 7th
and 9th grades, and Dingbat is friends with their friends. Also,
Dingbat is involved in many MMS activities.
How can
both candidates win the same election by a majority?
This is
exactly what happens sometimes in elections for the United States' President.
One candidate wins the most state votes, just as Whispery Werewolf did. Another
candidate receives the most individual votes, as Dingbat Dragon did.
This
method of choosing the U. S. President by state, through the Electoral College,
is written into the U. S. Constitution, the rules of our country.
However,
as you can see, this method can create conflict between voters and candidates.
According
to the U. S. Constitution, Whispery Werewolf would be the new President of
Monster Middle School.
Does
Dingbat Dragon have the right to be President instead?
What are
the advantages of voting for School President by classrooms? What are the advantages
of choosing by individual votes?
If you
were in the office at MMS, how would you solve this problem?
The
Electoral College method of choosing a U. S. President is written into the U.
S. Constitution, and changing the constitution, or amending it, can be very
difficult. What do you think the U. S. should do about this conflict?
MMS School President Election Results:
Gussy Ghost
|
Dingbat Dragon
|
Vermin Vampire
|
Worthy Werewolf
|
Total votes
|
Total students
|
||
7th grade
|
A
|
0
|
9
|
0
|
11
|
20
|
20
|
classrooms
|
B
|
3
|
6
|
0
|
11
|
20
|
20
|
C
|
4
|
5
|
0
|
11
|
20
|
20
|
|
D
|
3
|
11
|
1
|
5
|
20
|
20
|
|
E
|
4
|
12
|
0
|
4
|
20
|
20
|
|
14
|
43
|
1
|
42
|
||||
8th grade
|
A
|
0
|
18
|
0
|
2
|
20
|
20
|
classrooms
|
B
|
0
|
15
|
0
|
5
|
20
|
20
|
C
|
0
|
9
|
0
|
11
|
20
|
20
|
|
D
|
0
|
8
|
1
|
11
|
20
|
20
|
|
E
|
0
|
4
|
3
|
13
|
20
|
20
|
|
F
|
0
|
17
|
3
|
0
|
20
|
20
|
|
0
|
71
|
7
|
42
|
||||
9th grade
|
A
|
0
|
12
|
0
|
8
|
20
|
20
|
classrooms
|
B
|
0
|
11
|
0
|
9
|
20
|
20
|
C
|
0
|
15
|
0
|
5
|
20
|
20
|
|
D
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
15
|
20
|
20
|
|
E
|
0
|
9
|
0
|
11
|
20
|
20
|
|
F
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
14
|
20
|
20
|
|
0
|
58
|
0
|
62
|
340
|
|||
Candidate Totals
|
14
|
172
|
8
|
146
|
|||
