tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post4789089412200592199..comments2023-10-29T06:41:23.910-07:00Comments on Halfway There: Restoring the Voting Rights ActZenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-3112869369985222812013-07-04T14:42:43.919-07:002013-07-04T14:42:43.919-07:00Apparently ensuring that people get to vote is uni...Apparently ensuring that people get to vote is unimportant while expanding the right to marry is all right.<br /><br /><br />This has nothing to do with unimportant vs important. This has to do with the law and what it says.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-47793021758039321212013-07-01T12:56:55.922-07:002013-07-01T12:56:55.922-07:00Do we have any congresscritters who can understand...Do we have any congresscritters who can understand those simple calculations?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12324079828744226823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-44125676278117698612013-07-01T08:43:55.179-07:002013-07-01T08:43:55.179-07:00While (let's hope) the US is unlikely ever aga...While (let's hope) the US is unlikely ever again to have situations like those that Black citizens faced in the South during Jim Crow (with Black voting approaching 0%), I still wonder if some 568 scores are more unequal than others -- although obviously they're all bad.Kathienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-39258412308314691382013-06-30T17:14:16.912-07:002013-06-30T17:14:16.912-07:00States with identical numbers would be treated the...States with identical numbers would be treated the same under the VRA. The numbers are a tool for ranking the states and the individual numbers do not have any special significance otherwise (or, at least, I'm not trying to give them any such significance). All input numbers are percentages and the only thing that matters is the difference between corresponding pairs.Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-28967724204219028192013-06-30T16:21:53.361-07:002013-06-30T16:21:53.361-07:00Guess I didn't explain it clearly enough. Wha...Guess I didn't explain it clearly enough. What I meant was something like these examples, where one group's voting would be suppressed entirely:<br /><br />60% is A, 20% is B, 14% is C, and 6% is D. However, voting data indicates that the voting profile was 70% A, 0% B, 16% C, and 14% D.<br /><br />(60 - 70)^2 + (20 - 0)^2 + (14 - 16)^2 + (6 - 14)^2<br />= 100 + 400 + 4 + 64 = 568<br /><br />OR:<br /><br />60% is A, 20% is B, 14% is C, and 6% is D. However, voting data indicates that the voting profile was 70% A, 0% B, 22% C, and 8% D<br /><br />(60 - 70)^2 + (20 - 0)^2 + (14 - 22)^2 + (6 - 8)^2 = 568<br />100 + 400 + 64 + 4 = 568Kathienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-66390453469445467582013-06-30T14:17:12.448-07:002013-06-30T14:17:12.448-07:00If the voting profile were 0% B, there is no way y...If the voting profile were 0% B, there is no way you could still have the same aggregate discrepancy of 568. (You did mean 568, right?) That's because A would still yield (60 − 80)^2 = 400 and B would now do the same: (20 − 0)^2 = 400. The discrepancy number would soar to over 800.Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-88245874410931533862013-06-30T13:27:48.995-07:002013-06-30T13:27:48.995-07:00You posit as an example:
60% is A, 20% is B, 14% i...You posit as an example:<br />60% is A, 20% is B, 14% is C, and 6% is D. However, voting data indicates that the voting profile was 80% A, 12% B, 4% C, and 4% D.<br /><br />What if the hypothetical voting profile is 0% B, and the sum of the squares of the differences for the other three groups are slight enough that they add up to 168? Would that be an equally (un)just result? Or would a metric that considers percentages be fairer?<br /><br />My head hurts ;-)Kathienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-20100684994592785122013-06-29T20:29:16.064-07:002013-06-29T20:29:16.064-07:00Fine idea, Zeno. Given that our fair California ha...Fine idea, Zeno. Given that our fair California has been guilty of obstructing the vote at times in specific locations, we could live with it.evlunclbudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16198119284093699151noreply@blogger.com