Elmira College Mathematics Students Predict Election Outcome

 

On Election Day, three EC mathematics courses participated in a lab to predict the outcomes of the Presidential Election. The students were split into groups and using various sets of polling information, each group predicted the election outcome. The groups focused on the “swing states” and examined the Electoral College votes rather than the popular vote. At the end of the day, the results were put together to find the average predictions.

Dr. Joseph Kolacinski, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, was the professor whose classes completed this lab. “The median prediction here is 296.5 Electoral Votes for President Obama and 241.5 EV for Governor Romney,” commented Dr. Kolacinski. “That is somewhat short of the actual result of 332 to 206, and the main difference is Florida.” Dr. Kolacinski also pointed out that many experts had similar predictions for the outcome.