Transferable Vote Research Articles

The case for Instant Runoff Voting

Instant runoff voting (IRV) is an electoral system that produces better elections and more representative outcomes in races with three or more candidates. Used by over 50 American jurisdictions, IRV addresses the challenges of plurality voting in crowded candidate fields. It upholds majority rule, promotes voter engagement, discourages personal attacks, and minimizes strategic voting. IRV is preferable to runoff systems and other proposed single-winner methods. In comparison to runoffs, IRV produces higher, more equitable turnout and reduces costs and demands on voters. In contrast to methods based on rating candidates, voters in IRV elections have incentives to indicate their honest preferences. IRV demonstrates greater political viability and more intuitively fair outcomes than Condorcet methods. For legislative elections, IRV complements the single transferable vote, which is the best way to address the U.S.’s governance and polarization crises, end gerrymandering, and secure fairer representation for all.

The failure of Instant Runoff to accomplish the purpose for which it was adopted: a case study from Burlington Vermont

Instant-Runoff Voting (IRV) has been marketed to “guarantee that the majority candidate is elected,” to “eliminate the spoiler effect,” and to empower voters, particularly those supporting third-party or independent candidates, to “vote your hopes, not your fears,” which is meant to level the playing field between such candidates and those from the major-party duopoly. This paper shows that in Burlington Vermont, IRV objectively failed to deliver on these promises. However, this failure is not blamed on the use of ranked ballots, but rather on the Hare method of tallying the ballots and identifying the winner. To avoid the failure, this paper presents a variation on IRV, Bottom Two Runoff-IRV (BTR-IRV), including a template for possible legislative language.

How Do People Vote Under Instant Runoff Voting? An Experiment on Complexity and Voting Behavior

How Do People Vote Under Instant Runoff Voting? An Experiment on Complexity and Voting Behavior

A ranking comparison of the traditional, online and mixed laboratory mode learning objectives in engineering: Uncovering different priorities

<abstract> <p>The laboratory, an integral component of engineering education, can be conducted via traditional, online or mixed modes. Within these modes is a diverse range of implementation formats, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Empirical evidence investigating laboratory learning is rather scattered, with objectives measurement focused on the innovation in question (e.g., new simulation or experiment). Recently, a clearer picture of the most important laboratory learning objectives has formed. Missing is an understanding of whether academics implementing laboratories across different modes think about learning objectives differently. Using a survey based on the Laboratory Learning Objectives Measurement instrument, academics from a diverse range of engineering disciplines from across the world undertook a ranking exercise. The findings show that those implementing traditional and mixed laboratories align closely in their ranking choices, while those implementing online-only laboratories think about the objectives slightly differently. These findings provide an opportunity for reflection, enabling engineering educators to refine the alignment of their teaching modes, implementations and assessments with their intended learning objectives.</p> </abstract>

Votes Can Be Confidently Bought in Instant Runoff Elections, and What to Do About It

Votes Can Be Confidently Bought in Instant Runoff Elections, and What to Do About It

Organization of General Elections during a Pandemic. A Comparative Analysis of Poland and the Czech Republic

The aim of this paper is a comparative analysis of the new methods used to organise the 2020 general elections in Poland and the Czech Republic, which were held in the state of the SARS-19 virus pandemic. This paper analyses the voting methods introduced in connection with sanitary regulations in both countries and the scale of votes cast in this way in relation to the total. It discusses and compares the requirements introduced that voters and electoral commission members had to meet on voting day to minimise the risk of infection with the virus. The text shows a number of similarities in both countries in terms of the measures applied to prevent the spread of the virus associated with a personal visit to a polling station. An additional aspect of the comparative analysis of the covid-voting methods in the two countries was a discussion of voting rules for those infected or in quarantine on voting day. Analysis of the data showed that in both countries the alternative voting method, was not very popular.

The ability to vote for everyone? Alternative voting methods as instruments for the implementation of the principle of universality of elections in the Polish electoral system

The ability to vote for everyone? Alternative voting methods as instruments for the implementation of the principle of universality of elections in the Polish electoral system

Centralny Rejestr Wyborców jako przejaw wpływu rozwoju technologii na prawo wyborcze. Uwagi na tle nowelizacji Kodeksu wyborczego z 26 stycznia 2023 r.

Author verifies the thesis that changes in electoral law in Poland take into account the progress of technology. The subject of the research is the amendment of the Electoral Code of 26 January 2023 in regard to the introduced Central Register of Voters. The conducted analysis shows that the Polish legislator follows the development of technology. This deserves approval, improving the functioning of the electoral bodies, but above all making it easier for voters to participate in the elections. However, as pointed out in the article, the amendment to the Electoral Code has been done in a way that raises a number of questions that need to be kept in mind when assessing it. In addition, the changes to electoral law in the field of technology use raise a certain shortcoming from the point of view of the omission of normative changes regarding alternative voting methods, including e-voting.

Running Towards Rankings: Ranked Choice Voting’s Impact on Candidate Entry and Descriptive Representation

Running Towards Rankings: Ranked Choice Voting’s Impact on Candidate Entry and Descriptive Representation

Pecularities and Consequences of the Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Election Process in the World

The article analyzes the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on election processes and election results. Using the complex of general, logical and empirical scientific methods, the consequences and main forms of influence of the pandemic on the election process: change (postponing) the election date; use of non-traditional (alternative) voting methods; application of special mechanisms to protect citizens from the spread of the coronavirus infection during elections; changes in the level of citizens participation in the elections process; change in the quality and democracy of the electoral process; change in the dynamics of morbidity due to participation in elections, etc. have been distinguished. The peculiarities of applying the mentioned forms of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the elections process on the example of foreign countries have been analyzed. It has been concluded, that in the initial stages of the pandemic the typical reaction of governments of most countries was the postponement of the election dates. At the same time, undemocratic leaders used the pandemic as an excuse to maximize and usurp their power. Subsequently, it became more common to hold elections on the date set by law using alternative voting methods or using special security measures during elections with the traditional voting method at polling stations. It has been shown that the coronavirus pandemic did not significantly affect the democratic nature of the election process (democratic countries held elections in accordance with democratic standards, and non-democratic countries - with their violations). At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic mostly caused a decrease in voter turnout. An increase in the incidence has also been observed in the post-election period.

Does the Choice of Preferential Voting Method Matter? An Empirical Study Using Ranked Choice Elections in the United States

ABSTRACT In an election which uses preference ballots, there exist many different voting methods for choosing a winner of the election given the voters’ preference data. We analyse the extent to which the choice of voting method matters in American ranked-choice elections. To this end, we compiled a database of over 200 American elections which used preference ballots and, for each election, calculated the winner under the methods of plurality, instant runoff voting, plurality runoff, Condorcet, Bucklin voting, and two versions of Borda count. We find that the choice of voting method matters less frequently than what is suggested by much of the theoretical literature.

Demographic differences in understanding and utilization of ranked choice voting

AbstractObjectivesNew York City is the largest U.S. jurisdiction to use ranked choice voting (RCV). We examine New York and other U.S. cities using RCV to assess if there were different levels of understanding and utilization of RCV across demographic groups.MethodsWe placed items on a survey conducted during the 2021 New York City RCV election that had been included in two previous surveys of different U.S. cities using RCV.ResultsWe find higher levels of reported understanding and rates of ranking multiple candidates in NYC than in other jurisdictions. We find no systematic differences by race/ethnicity in terms of reported understanding of RCV in NYC or the other samples. We also find no systematic association between age and reported understanding of RCV. Respondents with more education were more likely to report understanding RCV in each sample. People of color were less likely to report ranking multiple mayoral candidates in NYC and California, and respondents with more education were more likely to report ranking in two samples.ConclusionsApart from these important differences in utilization, our search for race/ethnic differences largely produced null results, suggesting RCV may not produce bias in who engages with it.

The alternative vote for Zimbabwe?: A Rhodesian retrospective

The alternative vote for Zimbabwe?: A Rhodesian retrospective

Management of terror in stalemate. The consequences of political emancipation for the mechanisms of power in Spain

The main problem of this article is constructed in the form of the question “How has the political emancipation of citizens affected the mechanisms of power in Spain after 2011?” and focuses on the analysis of the changes taking place in the local political order as a consequence of individuals’ aspirations to secure their own political subjectivity. The transfer of votes to the Podemos party is treated as a result of seeking a new framework for political action by the left-wing voters under the conditions defined by terror management theory as a existential terrorism of globalization.

An intelligent methodology for the use of multi-criteria decision analysis in impact assessment: the case of real-world offshore construction

Impact assessment of large-scale projects involves a plethora of technical, economic, social, and environmental factors that must be assessed along with the expectations of the stakeholders of each project. While impact assessment is required for a development project to receive regulatory approval to proceed, it is also an invaluable tool during the design phase of complex projects, providing for informed decision-making. Molding multiple perspectives of diverse stakeholders into a single collective choice is a key challenge in the process. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is the methodology used to rank a finite number of decision options based on a finite set of evaluation criteria. Different MCDA techniques, however, may lead to different decisions when applied to the same problem while different sets of criteria and weights may rank choices differently even when the same method is applied. This is a cause of concern, and even acrimony, amongst the stakeholders, often leading to protracted periods of negotiation and delaying project launching. The objective of this paper is to present an intelligent system to ameliorate the effects of the inherent subjectivity in MCDA techniques and to develop a consensus amongst the stakeholders in a data-driven setting. A case study from the field of offshore construction is used as a running example. This case study, informed by real-world experience in the field, demonstrates succinctly the issues involved and illustrates clearly the proposed intelligent methodology and its merits.

Application and Match Rates in the Complex General Surgical Oncology Match.

BackgroundThe Society of Surgical Oncology collaborates with the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) to facilitate the Complex General Surgical Oncology (CGSO) Match.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to understand trends in CGSO Match outcomes. We hypothesized that (1) match rates would increase with time; (2) US allopathic graduates would have higher match rates than non-US allopathic graduates; and (3) most applicants would match at one of their top three ranked choices.MethodsThe NRMP provided applicant and program data from the CGSO Match (2014–2021). Chi-square tests elucidated temporal trends and match rates by applicant archetype.ResultsThe annual number of applicants decreased from 103 to 90 (13% decrease), while the annual number of fellowship positions increased from 56 to 67 (20% increase) from 2014–2021. The annual percentage of applicants who did not match decreased from 46% to 26% (p < 0.05). Annual match rates increased from 54% to 74% (p < 0.05). US allopathic graduates had higher match rates than non-US allopathic graduates but this disparity narrowed over time (84% vs. 55% in 2021; p < 0.001). Approximately half of all applicants matched at one of their top three choices (first, 29%; second, 12%; third, 8%). Applicants matching at one of their top three choices increased from 36% to 50% (p < 0.05).ConclusionsCGSO Match rates have increased over the past decade, thus primarily benefiting non-US allopathic graduates. Most applicants match at one of their top three choices. More research is needed to understand disparities in match rates by applicant and residency program characteristics.

Vote-processing rules for combining control recommendations from multiple models.

Mathematical modelling is used during disease outbreaks to compare control interventions. Using multiple models, the best method to combine model recommendations is unclear. Existing methods weight model projections, then rank control interventions using the combined projections, presuming model outputs are directly comparable. However, the way each model represents the epidemiological system will vary. We apply electoral vote-processing rules to combine model-generated rankings of interventions. Combining rankings of interventions, instead of combining model projections, avoids assuming that projections are comparable as all comparisons of projections are made within each model. We investigate four rules: First-past-the-post, Alternative Vote (AV), Coombs Method and Borda Count. We investigate rule sensitivity by including models that favour only one action or including those that rank interventions randomly. We investigate two case studies: the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa (37 compartmental models) and a hypothetical foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in UK (four individual-based models). The Coombs Method was least susceptible to adding models that favoured a single action, Borda Count and AV were most susceptible to adding models that ranked interventions randomly. Each rule chose the same intervention as when ranking interventions by mean projections, suggesting that combining rankings provides similar recommendations with fewer assumptions about model comparability.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Technical challenges of modelling real-life epidemics and examples of overcoming these’.

Complexity of shift bribery for iterative voting rules

In iterative voting systems, candidates are eliminated in consecutive rounds until either a fixed number of rounds is reached or the set of remaining candidates does not change anymore. We focus on iterative voting systems based on the positional scoring rules plurality, veto, and Borda and study their resistance against shift bribery attacks introduced by Elkind et al. [1] and Kaczmarczyk and Faliszewski [2]. In constructive shift bribery (Elkind et al. [1]), an attacker seeks to make a designated candidate win the election by bribing voters to shift this candidate in their preferences; in destructive shift bribery (Kaczmarczyk and Faliszewski [2]), the briber’s goal is to prevent this candidate’s victory. We show that many iterative voting systems are resistant to these types of attack, i.e., the corresponding decision problems are NP-hard. These iterative voting systems include iterated plurality as well as the voting rules due to Hare, Coombs, Baldwin, and Nanson; variants of Hare voting are also known as single transferable vote, instant-runoff voting, and alternative vote.

Gender differences in campaigning under alternative voting systems: analysis of election manifestos

ABSTRACT Growing evidence reveals that candidate issue engagement differs between men and women. However, recent research suggests that individual-level differences among candidates should be small under the strategic incentives inherent in single-member district elections that encourage party rather than personal-vote seeking. We examine whether men and women candidates emphasize different issues in their electoral campaigns and if the magnitude of the gender gap varies under different electoral rules. Our analysis of 7497 Japanese election manifestos spanning more than 20 years, from 1986 to 2009, reveals significant gender differences in the issues candidates emphasize in their electoral campaigns, regardless of party affiliation or other attributes. Moreover, these differences remain salient after an extensive change from a multi-member district to single-member district electoral system.

Electronic Voting in Opinions and Declarations of Young Lithuanians Aged 19–29 Years. Report on Preliminary Research

The aim of the article is to present the preliminary results of a survey conducted among Lithuanian students on their opinion about i-voting and the possibility of implementing this alternative voting method in Lithuania. The main aim of the research was to answer the following research questions: What is the attitude of young Lithuanians towards voting via the Internet? What threats, benefits and challenges related to the potential implementation of i-voting in Lithuania are perceived by the surveyed group. The research showed that the respondents believe that the greatest barriers to the introduction of i-voting in Lithuania are: the threat of cybercrime, the possibility of violating the principle of secret voting, the lack of political will, the need to change the law; young voters would be willing to vote via the Internet and this could have a positive impact on the turnout among this group of voters; the complexity of the challenges related to implementing i-voting means that there is no chance of its quick introduction.