About:

The UK General Election takes place on 4 July and it is just one of over 60 general elections expected in 2024, as well as the EU parliament elections. It is estimated that almost half of the world’s population will have the opportunity to vote this year.  In the fast-moving, non-stop news feed world we occupy, access to opinions - true or false, good or bad, real or AI generated - about who to vote for is inescapable. There will be countless televised debates and millions of words spoken and written to try and influence your decision on polling day. But what about the mechanisms behind voting? Voting systems are mathematical in nature, so can we enact political change by following mathematical evidence of what methods work better than others?

Please join us on 11 June at 18.00 at the Symposium Building, Surgeons Quarter to hear a stellar panel give their informed perspectives on how voting systems affect elections outcomes. There will be a moderated discussion and an opportunity for the audience to ask questions.

The Panel

John Curtice is a professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, and a senior research fellow at the National Centre of Social Research. Professor Curtice is a ubiquitous presence in the UK media around the time of any election with his particular expertise in exit poll estimation.

Moon Duchin is joining Cornell University this Fall as Professor of Mathematics and Public Policy. She is a founder of the Metric Geometry and Gerrymandering Group, bringing techniques from mathematics to the study of fair redistricting. She has served as an expert witness in many high-profile gerrymandering cases.

Eric Maskin is the Adams University Professor and professor of economics and mathematics at Harvard University . He has made contributions to game theory, contract theory, social choice theory, political economy, and other areas of economics. Eric Maskin was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2007 (with L Hurwicz and R Myerson).

The Chair

Alma Steingart, Department of History, Columbia University