Lowndes method
Lowndes method is a apportionment method for proportional representation, first proposed by South Carolina representative William Lowndes in 1822. In this method, states or parties are divided by Hare quota, and then the remaining seats to the states/parties that have the highest seat to inhabitant ratio. Similarly to largest remainder methods, no party can get more than one remaining seat. No country currently uses this method to allocate its seats.
Example
In 1790, the U.S. had 15 states. For the purpose of allocating seats in the House of Representatives, the state populations were as follows:
State | Population |
---|---|
Virginia | 630 560 |
Massachusetts | 475 327 |
Pennsylvania | 432 879 |
North Carolina | 353 523 |
New York | 331 589 |
Maryland | 278 514 |
Connecticut | 236 841 |
South Carolina | 206 236 |
New Jersey | 179 570 |
New Hampshire | 141 822 |
Vermont | 85 533 |
Georgia | 70 835 |
Kentucky | 68 705 |
Rhode Island | 68 446 |
Delaware | 55 540 |
Total | 3 615 920 |
Suppose that there were to be 60 seats in the House.
State | Quotient | People per seat |
---|---|---|
Virginia | 10 | 63,056 |
Massachusetts | 7 | 67,903.9 |
Pennsylvania | 7 | 61,839.9 |
North Carolina | 5 | 70,704.6 |
New York | 5 | 66,317.8 |
Maryland | 4 | 69,628.5 |
Connecticut | 3 | 78,947 |
South Carolina | 3 | 68,745 |
New Jersey | 2 | 89785 |
New Hampshire | 2 | 70,911 |
Vermont | 1 | 85,533 |
Georgia | 1 | 70,835 |
Kentucky | 1 | 68,705 |
Rhode Island | 1 | 68,446 |
Delaware | 0 | N/A |
Total | 52 |
Since Delaware has 0 seats after the Hare calculation, they would have no seats, however since every state is required to have at least one seat, we award them the first seat, After that, the states with the highest people-per-seat ratio are awarded, which are New Jersey, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Georgia, North Carolina, and Maryland .