{"id":128129,"date":"2020-10-01T16:05:57","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T02:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=128129"},"modified":"2020-10-01T16:05:57","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T02:05:57","slug":"math-of-voting-and-gerrymandering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/10\/01\/math-of-voting-and-gerrymandering\/","title":{"rendered":"Mathematics of voting and gerrymandering explained"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

\"Kamuela<\/p>\n

In November 2016, Kamuela Yong<\/strong> woke up to find that Donald Trump had lost the popular vote, but won the Electoral College. In between his 45-minute commute to work, the University of University of Hawaiʻi<\/span>–West Oʻahu<\/span> associate professor developed an example to explain the outcome to his mathematics students.<\/p>\n

“Voting is fundamental to democracy but sometimes people feel that voting isn’t fair,” Yong said. “If we can understand the mathematics behind voting, we can be more informed citizens. The math doesn\u2019t lie and doesn\u2019t have favorites.”<\/p>\n

Yong, the first Native Hawaiian to earn a PhD<\/abbr> in applied mathematics<\/a>, is also a recipient of the 2020 Board of Regents\u2019 Medal for Excellence in Teaching<\/a>. He is always looking for ways to make math interesting for his students.<\/p>\n

“Every election year I like to have a micro lesson on the mathematics of voting,” Yong said. “Math is all around us and I like to find relevant topics to engage with my students.”<\/p>\n