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Why Are Close Elections So Common?


When voters decide between two alternatives, as is effectively the case in the U.S. presidential election, it usually comes down to a neck-and-neck race. Researchers can now explain this mathematically

By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. In order to model an emerging equilibrium in sentiment for two parties, one could initially assume, as is usual in game theory, that each voter tosses a coin. “Countries with less than about a million voters tend to reach a consensus,” Devauchelle told Phys.org, “whereas the [electorates] of larger countries generally converge to [an equally divided state of voter sentiment], even when one camp was clearly leading in the polls at the onset of the election.”

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