# Election math **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 12, 2020, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432 "2020-11-12T15:03:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/1 "2020-11-12T15:03:12Z")
You say Cherry picking? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ztu5Y5obWPk/maxresdefault.jpg "Dr.SHIVA LIVE: MIT PhD Analysis of Michigan Votes Reveals Unfortunate Truth of U.S. Voting Systems.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ztu5Y5obWPk) Some say this data is cherry picked. But what if a perfect line were found? The probability of that sort of overrides the significance of cherry picking that county out of thousands. 100’s of counties in 2 states alone fit this pattern. Mostly urban counties. Can you think of a reason this data can be real without being manipulated by an algorithm? Looks too perfect to me. One could look at past elections? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/2 "2020-11-12T15:11:24Z")
The video is over an hour long. I think you’ll need to maybe summarize at least, to get responses. Also, it’s considered good form to offer your own view, when asking others to share theirs. Just a couple of suggestion, Good Luck! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/3 "2020-11-12T15:11:41Z")
So, could you give us a hint of what the video is about? What were his conclusions? ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/4 "2020-11-12T15:18:52Z")
Sure. You can skip to the middle to save time. It proves an algorithm was used to change the results. A feature of the voting software is weighted mode. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/5 "2020-11-12T15:27:23Z")
> **[Shiva Ayyadurai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva_Ayyadurai)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > V. A. Shiva Ayyadurai (born Vellayappa Ayyadurai Shiva, December 2, 1963) is an Indian-American engineer, politician, entrepreneur, and anti-vaccine activist. He has become known for promoting conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and unfounded medical claims. Ayyadurai holds four degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), including a Ph.D. in biological engineering, and is a Fulbright grant recipient. Inventor of email… 🤣 Promoter of conspiracy theories… Failed Republican candidate… [https://www.indiawest.com/news/global\_indian/shiva-ayyadurai-loses-in-massachusetts-gop-primary-for-u-s-senate/article\_7b1c0c30-ed48-11ea-8e4a-f31e3c7b88ea.html](https://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/shiva-ayyadurai-loses-in-massachusetts-gop-primary-for-u-s-senate/article_7b1c0c30-ed48-11ea-8e4a-f31e3c7b88ea.html) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/6 "2020-11-12T15:32:14Z")
About your “Dr. Shiva”, from Wiki: " **V. A. Shiva Ayyadurai** (born **Vellayappa Ayyadurai Shiva** ) , is an Indian-American scientist, engineer and entrepreneur and promoter of conspiracy theories and unfounded medical claims. He is notable for his widely discredited claim to be the "inventor of email based on the electronic email software called “EMAIL” he wrote as a New Jersey high school student in the late 1970s. Initial reports that repeated Ayyadurai’s assertion—from organizations such as _The Washington Post_ and the Smithsonian Institution-were followed by public retractions. These corrections were triggered by objections from historians and ARPANET pioneers who pointed out that email was already actively used in the early 1970s. Ayyadurai also attracted attention for two reports: the first questioning the working conditions of India’s largest scientific agency; the second questioning the safety of genetically modified soybeans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ayyadurai became known for a social media disinformation campaign about the coronavirus; spreading conspiracy theories about the cause of coronavirus; promoting unfounded COVID-19 treatments; and campaigning to fire Anthony Fauci for allegedly being a so-called “deep state” actor." ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/7 "2020-11-12T15:34:14Z")
> [@sbright33](#): > > Sure. You can skip to the middle to save time. Considering the source, we can save time and just skip the whole video. Really, did you actually think we wouldn’t check on “Dr. Shiva”? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/8 "2020-11-12T15:36:07Z")
Three days ago, you had [another thread about irregularities in voting data](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anomalies-in-chronological-voter-data/925157) where you also didn’t offer any specifics. Can you provide them here (preferably in the form of words), aside from saying “Just skip to the middle of a 70-minute YouTube video”? ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/9 "2020-11-12T15:47:45Z")
Let’s stick to this topic. Then I will be happy to continue on to others. He’s a smart guy. Techdirt took 50 pages to prove he was wrong about the dates and features of Email. Please help me understand how this pattern can exist without an algorithm? ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/10 "2020-11-12T15:50:56Z")
> **[Ad hominem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Ad hominem (Latin for 'to the person'), short for argumentum ad hominem (Latin for 'argument to the person'), refers to several types of arguments, most of which are fallacious. > Typically, this term refers to a rhetorical strategy where the speaker attacks the character, motive, or some other attribute of the person making an argument rather than addressing the substance of the argument itself. The most common form of ad hominem is "A makes a... ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/11 "2020-11-12T15:52:44Z")
Sorry, but if you are going to make a vague and extraordinary claim, the veracity of your source is definitely on-topic…and your source is crap. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/12 "2020-11-12T15:52:58Z")
> [@sbright33](#): > > Please help me understand how this pattern can exist without an algorithm? What pattern? Nobody here is watching a 70-minute video from a crazy person just to debunk non-existent fraud. Explain your claim so we can discuss it, or don’t. ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/13 "2020-11-12T15:55:44Z")
It’s not vague or extraordinary. It is explained clearly with links to the data provided. The cause is uncertain. That’s why I asked the question. ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/14 "2020-11-12T16:01:13Z")
While we are here. Can you explain how roughly 100k votes were returned before the ballots were sent? Or shortly after leaving no time for mail transit. The raw data is available for each record I’ve isolated them to save time so you don’t have to download gigabytes. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/15 "2020-11-12T16:02:04Z")
> [@sbright33](#): > > The raw data is available for each record I’ve isolated them to save time so you don’t have to download gigabytes. You what? Where? And where is your summary of what that video contains? ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/16 "2020-11-12T16:05:05Z")
2 sentences above. I know it’s short. You wanted a summary. ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/17 "2020-11-12T16:07:18Z")
I could transcribe a few of his key paragraphs. Or you could speed up the video to save time. I could make a link so you only have to listen to 5 minutes to get the idea. If you don’t want to watch it, then don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/18 "2020-11-12T16:09:38Z")
Here’s the thing, just saying that, “100k votes were returned before the ballots were sent” doesn’t mean shit, unless you provide where you got that information from. Since you’re linking to known lunatic and charlatan, if you got the information from him, it’s not very impressive. Can you link to where you got the information above? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/19 "2020-11-12T16:10:37Z")
> [@sbright33](#): > > Can you explain how roughly 100k votes were returned before the ballots were sent? That’s easy. It didn’t happen. I will try to find a way to understand what Shiva is saying, but after reading various Benford’s law bullshit and other “mathy” nonsense I’m not sure how much energy I have for it. If it’s crypto-hacking BS then I’m not very interested either. ---
**Author:** ![sbright33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432/20 "2020-11-12T16:12:24Z")
I promise to link to the votes returned before they are sent. I’d love to hear any possible reasons. This first. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-math/925432.md?page=2)