Delaware Election 2010 Crystal Ball Contest

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Contest Description
Welcome to the Democracy Project’s 2010 Delaware Election Crystal Ball contest webpage. The Democracy Project is a civics education program of the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration.

Eligibility
This contest is open to K-12 students in the state of Delaware. The individual who most accurately predicts the outcomes of the races highlighted in the contest will be recognized at a lunch hosted by Delaware’s Secretary of State, Jeffrey W. Bullock.

Preparation
The contest is designed to engage you in the process of becoming informed about candidates and the importance of elections. Our hope is that, while you gather information that will inform your predictions, you will come to realize that elections and voting really do matter.

How to Participate
You may enter predictions anytime between Friday, October 8th, and noon on November 1st. Please know that the individual who submits the most accurate prediction first (by time and date) will be declared the winner.

The rules, restrictions, and scoring procedures are described below.
Good luck with your predictions. We hope that you enjoy becoming informed.

  • Goal
    Submit the most accurate prediction for the results of 2010 mid-term elections.
  • Election Prediction Rules
    You must make predictions for all categories. Incomplete predictions will not be counted.
    Predictions for the United State House and Senate seats for Delaware must be to the first decimal place (i.e., within a tenth). You may predict whole numbers such as 99.0%.
  • Restriction
    Individuals may cast only one prediction.
    Predictions for the United State House and Senate seats for Delaware must be to the first decimal place (i.e. within a tenth). You may predict whole numbers such as 99.0%.
  • Scoring
    One point will be subtracted for each point that is inaccurate. The total number of error points will be calculated and the person with the fewest error points will be the winner. (For example, if a student predicts that a party wins a total of 8 seats in the Delaware Senate and the actual total is 11, that person accumulates 3 error points.)
  • Each tenth of a percentage point for the US House and Senate seats for Delaware will count as a whole error point. (For example, if you predict 33.2% and the actual result is 33.8%, that prediction will total 6 error points.)
  • Tiebreaker
    In the event of a tie, the person who submits his or her prediction first (by date and time) will be recognized as the winner of the contest.
  • Deadline
    Monday, November 1, at noon.
Enter the Democracy Project’s 2010 Delaware Election Crystal Ball Contest

Feel free to contact Fran O’Malley (fomalley@udel.edu) or Ed Freel (efreel@udel.edu) at the Democracy Project for additional information about the 2010 Delaware Statewide Mock Election.