Condorcet voting - a better way of reflecting the voters' real choices

[scottxyz]

Most voting systems in the US allow you to just pick a single candidate.

Condorcet voting (named after the French mathematician and social scientist) allows you to rank your top candidates - producing a more realistic reflection of voters' true wishes.

More info below.

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Right now many would lament with the state of government and leadership in our country. Trust in government is at an all-time low, and voters feel as though they are no match for monied interests that buy influence from Democrats and Republicans alike. Many complain about the "horserace" mentality in the media coverage of elections, covering who is ahead of who rather than covering the issues. However, these problems are actually weaknesses in the electoral system we have today, and can be fixed by election reform.

http://www.eskimo.com/~robla/politics/condorcet-explain.html

Condorcet: A Better Election Method
In every U.S. election, voters who are dissatisfied with both major parties face the classic dilemma of deciding whether to base their vote on principle or pragmatism. Rather than "wasting" their vote on a candidate with no chance of winning, most end up voting defensively for the "Republicrat" they disagree with least just to oppose the one they disagree with even more. Most voters assume that this dilemma is an inherent fact of democracy, but it is not. It is completely attributable to the inadequacy of our current plurality election method, and a simple expansion of voting rights could end it.

The reason we have a two-party system in the United States is widely misunderstood. It is not because the Democrats and Republicans consistently have the best ideas, nor is it because the media or the debate commission shut out the other parties. We have a two-party system because our plurality voting system does not allow voters to fully specify their preferences. This fact is known as "Duverger's Law." To vote for minor parties, voters must effectively withdraw from the races between the two major parties, even though they may have a strong opinion on those races too. Voters who vote for minor parties essentially "waste" their votes and fail to oppose political movements they strongly disagree with. Protest votes may send a "signal," but the unfortunate reality is that they have virtually no direct effect on the actual outcome of elections -- and the indirect effect is usually contrary to the voter's intention.

The right to vote is the foundation of democracy, and a simple expansion of voting rights could improve the democratic process dramatically. Instead of allowing voters to select only a single candidate for each office, they should be allowed to rank the candidates according to preference. Such an expansion of voting rights would allow voters to fully specify their preferences. Although ranked voting may not at first seem important, it could end the two-party system as we know it. It will not make the voters wiser, nor will it guarantee that they will elect better candidates, but it can give them the kind of leaders they really want -- and that is the essence of democracy.

http://electionmethods.org/Condorcet.htm

Also check out:

http://accuratedemocracy.com/voting_systems.htm

[unblock]

1. yeah, but try 'splaining that to average joe....

[scottxyz]

2. How's this for starters: Condorcet "elevator pitches"

The idea here is to come up with an explanation that is so short you could conceivably "pitch" it to someone during a brief ride in an elevator. Ideally this should fit on two sides of a business card.

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The principle of the Condorcet Winner is:

The candidate who beats each of the others, one against one, should win the tally.

That is ...
There are 2 key ingredients to Condorcet.

(1) Voters have to rank the candidates.

(2) The tally has to compare candidates 1 on 1.

The effects of Condorcet Winners are:
The winner appeals to voters on the left and the right. This central and broadly-popular candidate moderates a council by holding the decisive swing vote.

http://lists.electorama.com/pipermail/election-methods-electorama.com/2000-September/004227.html


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The advantages of pairwise Instant Runoff Voting (or "Condorcet" tallying) are:

# A majority winner from one election, so no winners-without-mandates and no costly runoff elections.

# Less negative campaigning, because a candidate must ask a rivals' supporters for their 2nd choice votes.

# No hurting your first choice by ranking a 2nd, as the 2nd does not count unless the 1st choice has lost.

# No lesser-of-two-evils voting, as the voter can mark his sincere 1st choice without fear of wasting his vote.

# No spoilers, as votes for minor candidates will move to each voter's more popular choices.

http://accuratedemocracy.com/c_irv.htm