"Into The Quagmire": Mathematics, Fair Representation, and the 1960s Apportionment Revolution

In the 1960s, the meaning of political representation in the United States narrowed to a numbers game. While scholars continued to ponder the meaning of political representation and argue about its compatibility with democratic rule, when it came to fighting for “fair” representation, such theoretical considerations gave way to, or were hidden behind, numerical arguments. In the process, representation was reduced to an arithmetical relation. This talk will survey the early reactions to Baker v. Carr by litigants, scholars, and politicians, asking how different actors came to think about the relation between numerical arguments and the meaning of fair representation. Revisiting the 1960s, before the full ramifications of the Court’s ruling were fully understood and when the justices themselves were grappling with the meaning of the “one person, one vote” standard, promises a useful perspective on today’s arguments regarding gerrymandering.

Academic Bio

Alma Steingart, an assistant professor in the Department of History at Columbia University, researches the interplay between American politics and mathematical rationalities. Professor Steingart’s current project, Accountable Democracy, examines how mathematical thought and computing technologies have impacted electoral politics in the United States in the twentieth century. It follows on her first book, Axiomatics: Mathematical Thought and High Modernism (2023). Steingart’s work has appeared in Social Studies of Science, Grey Room, Osiris, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Her work is supported by a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation.