Voting Methods Modeling Workshop June 18-20, 2025

The Data and Democracy Lab (also known as MGGG Redistricting Lab) will hold an in-person workshop at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY from June 18-20, 2025. This two-and-a-half day workshop (noon Wednesday to 4pm Friday) will focus on the modeling of ranked-choice voting (RCV) and other “alternative” systems of election.

Topics include:

• Basics of voter behavior models from the modeling literature, including those developed in our lab;
• How to use VoteKit—our Python package for modeling elections;
• Place-specific study exercise that walks through how you might help local groups predict how a transition in the voting system might be expected to play out; and
• Brainstorming as a group about the next round of ideas for statistical modeling.

While comfort with Python will be helpful, this VoteKit training will be absolutely accessible to Python beginners who are willing to give it a try. Attendees are highly welcome to make feature requests for the future.

Training Materials

Materials used during this workshop can be found in our GitHub repository.

Schedule

Wednesday 12-5pm (plus optional after-hours)

Location: Malott Hall, 212 Garden Ave, Ithaca, NY 14853 (enter on Sciences Dr.)

• 11-12 noon (Malott 301A) - Registration
• 12 noon (Malott 301A) - Official start of training
• 12-1:30 - Catered lunch, meet and greet, icebreaker
• 1:45-3:15 - Walk-through of Chicago case study
• 3:30-4:30 - Split sessions:
  • Practitioners - Intro to Python for VoteKit
  • Technical - The mathematics of VoteKit
• 4:30-5 - Roundup of Day 1
• 6-7:30 - After hours Python installation session. Food will be provided!

Thursday 9-5pm (plus optional group dinner)

Location: Malott Hall

• 9am Welcome back
• 9:15-10:15 - Split sessions:
  • Practitioners - Generating ballots that model voter behavior
  • Technical - Data sources, acquisition, and prep
• 10:30-11:15 - Sharing session: Features and characteristics of your local jurisdictions
• 11:30 - 12:30 - Split sessions:
  • Practitioners - Understanding data, running elections
  • Technical - Running elections, single and parallel
• 12:30-2 - Catered lunch
• 2-3:30 - Place-specific exercise, Part 1
• 3:45-4:30 - Data visualizations with VoteKit
• 4:30-5 - Roundup of Day 2
• 5:30pm - Group dinner at Bar Argos (pizza covered, drinks available)

Friday 9-4pm (plus optional dinner and music)

Location: Malott Hall

• 9-10:30 - Place-specific exercise, Part 2
• 10:45-11:45 - Communicating technical and non-technical information to diverse stakeholders
• 12-1:30 - Lunch on your own
• 1:30-2:30 - Place-specific exercise, Part 3
• 2:45-4 - Roundup of training - Feature requests, listening session, next steps
• 4pm - Official end of training
• 6pm - Dinner and outdoor concert at Finger Lakes Cider House (food covered, cover fee charged, drinks available)

Saturday morning

• 10am - Meet at Hotel Ithaca for waterfall hike at Robert Treman State Park
  • 1.5 hour hike down (or 3+ hour round trip if preferred!) Transportation details TBD.

While in Ithaca

Many of you are staying at Hotel Ithaca. You can ride up to campus on lots of different bus lines. You can pay with cash or get the TCAT app (called TFare in the app stores).

Many people might enjoy taking the bus up and walking down, which takes about a half hour walking along the Gorge.

For dinner on your own, some good choices include Lev Kitchen, Hawi Ethiopian, and The Rook. Morning coffee spots downtown include Press Cafe, Hound and Mare, and Gimme Coffee.

While on campus

For lunch on your own on Friday, places to know include Temple of Zeus (soup, sandwiches, good coffee) and Martha’s Cafe (good mediterannean bowls, bad coffee). If you have extra time on campus, A.D. White Reading Room is highly recommended, inside Uris Library.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please contact us at rcv-training@mggg.org.