Electoral systems can be compared by different means. These comparisons can focus on different aspects: on suffrage or rules for voter eligibility; on candidate eligibility and the rules governing political parties; on the way elections are scheduled, sequenced, and combined; or on the rules for determining the winner within a given election (also called the "election rule" or "voting method"). Attitudes towards systems are highly influenced by the systems' impact on groups that one supports or opposes, which can make the objective comparison of electoral systems difficult. There are several ways to address this problem. For example, criteria can be defined mathematically, such that any voting method either passes or fails. This gives perfectly objective results, but their practical relevance is still arguable. Another approach is to define ideal criteria that no voting method passes perfectly, and then see how often or how close to passing various methods are over a large sample of simulated elections. This gives results which are practically relevant, but the method of generating the sample of simulated elections can still be arguably biased. A final approach is to create imprecisely defined criteria, and then assign a neutral body to evaluate each method according to these criteria. This approach can look at aspects of voting methods which the other two approaches miss, but both the definitions of these criteria and the evaluations of the methods are still inevitably subjective.
To compare methods fairly and independently of political ideologies, voting theorists use voting method criteria, which define potentially desirable properties of voting methods mathematically.
Using criteria to compare methods does not make the comparison completely objective. For example, it is relatively easy to devise a criterion that is met by one's preferred voting method, and by very few other methods. Doing this, one can then construct a biased argument for the criterion, instead of arguing directly for the method. There is no ultimate authority on which criteria should be considered.
The following criteria, which apply to single-winner voting methods, are considered to be desirable by many voting theorists:
These are criteria that state that, if the set of ballots is a certain way, a certain candidate must or must not win.
These are criteria that state that, if a certain candidate wins in one circumstance, the same candidate must (or must not) win in a related circumstance.
These are criteria which relate to the process of counting votes and determining a winner.
These are criteria that relate to a voter's incentive to use certain forms of strategy. They could also be considered as relative result criteria; however, unlike the criteria in that section, these criteria are directly relevant to voters; the fact that a method passes these criteria can simplify the process of figuring out one's optimal strategic vote.
These are issues relating to the expressivity or information content of a valid ballot.
Note on terminology: A criterion is said to be "weaker" than another when it is passed by more voting methods. Frequently, this means that the conditions for the criterion to apply are stronger. For instance, the majority criterion (MC) is weaker than the multiple majority criterion (MMC), because it requires that a single candidate, rather than a group of any size, should win. That is, any method which passes the MMC also passes the MC, but not vice versa; while any required winner under the MC must win under the MMC, but not vice versa.
The following table shows which of the above criteria are met by several single-winner methods.
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Criterion
Method |
Majority | Maj. loser |
Mutual maj. |
Condorcet | Cond. loser |
Smith/ ISDA |
LIIA | IIA | Cloneproof | Monotone | Consistency | Participation | Reversal symmetry |
Polytime/ resolvable |
Summable | Later-no- | No favorite betrayal |
Ballot type |
Ranks |
|||
Harm | Help | = | >2 | |||||||||||||||||||
Approval | Rated |
No | No | No |
No | No |
Yes | Yes |
Yes |
N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | O(N) | Yes | O(N) | No | Yes |
Yes | Approvals | Yes | No |
Borda count | No | Yes | No | No |
Yes | No | No | No | Teams | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | O(N) | Yes | O(N) | No | Yes | No | Ranking | No | Yes |
Copeland | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Teams, crowds |
Yes | No |
No |
Yes | O(N2) | No | O(N2) | No |
No | No |
Ranking | Yes | Yes |
IRV (AV) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Yes | No |
No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | O(N2) | Yes[11] | O(N!) |
Yes | Yes | No | Ranking | No | Yes |
Kemeny– |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Spoilers | Yes | No [13] |
No |
Yes | O(N!) | Yes | O(N2) |
No |
No | No |
Ranking | Yes | Yes |
Majority judgment |
Rated |
Yes |
No |
No |
No | No |
Yes | Yes |
Yes | Yes | No |
No |
Depends |
O(N) | Yes | O(N) |
No |
Yes | Yes | Scores |
Yes | Yes |
Minimax | Yes | No | No | Yes |
No | No | No | No |
Spoilers | Yes | No |
No |
No | O(N2) | Yes | O(N2) | No |
No | No |
Ranking | Yes | Yes |
Plurality/FPTP | Yes | No | No | No |
No | No |
No | No | Spoilers | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | O(N) | Yes | O(N) | N/A |
N/A |
No | Single mark | N/A | No |
Score voting | No | No | No | No |
No | No |
Yes | Yes |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | O(N) | Yes | O(N) | No | Yes | Yes | Scores | Yes | Yes |
Ranked pairs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Yes | Yes | No |
No |
Yes | O(N4) | Yes | O(N2) | No |
No | No |
Ranking | Yes | Yes |
Runoff voting | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Yes | No |
No | No | Spoilers | No | No | No | No | O(N) |
Yes | O(N) |
Yes | Yes |
No | Single mark | N/A | No |
Schulze | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Yes | Yes | No |
No |
Yes | O(N3) | Yes | O(N2) | No |
No | No |
Ranking | Yes | Yes |
STAR voting |
No[30] | Yes | No |
No |
Yes | No |
No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
O(N) | Yes | O(N²) | No | No | No[33] | Scores | Yes | Yes |
Sortition, |
No | No | No | No |
No | No |
Yes | Yes | No | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | O(1) | No | O(1) | Yes | Yes | Yes | None | N/A | N/A |
Random ballot |
No | No | No | No |
No | No |
Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | O(N) | No | O(N) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Single mark | N/A | No |
This table is not comprehensive. For example, Coombs' method, which satisfies many of the criteria, is not included.
The following table shows which of the above criteria are met by several multiple winner methods.
Criterion
Method |
Proportional | Monotone | Consistency | Participation | Cloneproof | No Favorite Betrayal |
Semihonest | Universally Liked Candidates | With Single Winner |
Ballot Type |
Complexity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monroe's | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Approval or Range | Approvals or scores | 5 – Moderate/somewhat high (It's just difficult to compute, not to understand) | ||
Elbert's | Approval or Range | Approvals or scores | 10 – Extremely High | ||||||||
Psi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Approval or Range | Approvals or scores | 4 – Moderate (The equation just looks scary) | |
Harmonic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Approval or Range | Approvals or scores | 4 – Moderate (The equation just looks scary) | |
Sequential Proportional Approval | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Approval | Approvals | 2 – Simple | |
Re-weighted Range | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Range | Scores | 3 – Simple/Moderate | |
Proportional Approval | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Approval | Approvals | 3 – Simple/Moderate | |
Bid voting | Yes | No | No | Yes | Approval or Range | Approvals or scores | 4 – Moderate | ||||
Single Transferable Vote | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Instant Runoff | Rankings | 2 – Simple |
CPO-STV | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | A Condorcet method (depends on which one) | Rankings | 6 – Somewhat high |
Schulze STV | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Schulze | Rankings | 7 – Somewhat high (easier if you understand single winner schulze) |
Expanding Approvals Rule | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Approval | Approvals | ? |
Single Non Transferable Vote | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | N/A (not proportional) | Plurality | Single mark | 0 – Super simple |
Mini-max Outcome (not to be confused with other mini-max) | Approval | Approvals | ? (needs further research) | ||||||||
Sortition, Arbitrary Winner | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A (not proportional) | Sortition, arbitrary winner | None | 0 – Super simple |
Single Random Ballot | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A (not proportional) | Random Ballot | Limited marks | 0 – Super simple |
Multiple Random Ballots | Approaches | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A (not proportional) | Random Ballot | Limited rankings | 0 – Super simple |
The following table shows which of the above criteria are met by several multiple winner methods. This table is incomplete. If you are an electoral scientist, for the sake of electoral science, please finish it!
Criterion
Method |
Monotone | Consistency | Participation | Cloneproof | No favorite |
Semihonest | Smith set |
Condorcet |
Condorcet |
With single |
Ballot |
How hard is it to understand? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Multiple Winner Approval | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Approval | Approvals | 0 – Super
simple |
Multiple Winner Range | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Range | Scores | 0 – Super
simple |
Multiple Winner Schulze | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Schulze | Rankings | 6 – Somewhat hard |
At Large | Yes | Yes | Yes | No
(spoilers) |
No | No | No | No | No | Plurality | Limited marks | 0 – Super
simple |
It is possible to simulate large numbers of virtual elections on a computer and see how various voting methods compare in practical terms. Since such investigations are more difficult than simply proving that a given method does or does not satisfy a given mathematical criterion, results are not available for all methods. Also, these results are sensitive to the parameters of the model used to generate virtual elections, which can be biased either deliberately or accidentally.
One desirable feature that can be explored in this way is maximum voter satisfaction, called in this context minimum Bayesian regret. Such simulations are sensitive to their assumptions, particularly with regard to voter strategy, but by varying the assumptions they can give repeatable measures that bracket the best and worst cases for a voting method.[36] To date, the only such simulation to compare a wide variety of voting methods was run by a range-voting advocate and was not published in a peer-reviewed journal.[37][38] It found that Range voting consistently scored as either the best method or among the best across the various conditions studied.[39]
Another aspect which can be compared through such Monte Carlo simulations is strategic vulnerability. According to the Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem, no voting method can be immune to strategic manipulation in all cases, but certainly some methods will have this problem more often than others. M. Balinski and R. Laraki, the inventors of the majority judgment method, performed such an investigation using a set of simulated elections based on the results from a poll of the 2007 French presidential election which they had carried out using rated ballots. Comparing range voting, Borda count, plurality voting, approval voting with two different absolute approval thresholds, Condorcet voting, and majority judgment, they found that range voting had the highest (worst) strategic vulnerability, while their own method majority judgment had the lowest (best).[40]
Balinski and Laraki also used the same information to investigate how likely it was that each of those methods, as well as runoff voting, would elect a centrist. Opinions differ on whether this is desirable or not. Some argue that methods which favor centrists are better because they are more stable; others argue that electing ideologically purer candidates gives voters more choice and a better chance to retrospectively judge the relative merits of those ideologies; while Balinski and Laraki argue that both centrist and extremist candidates should have a chance to win, to prevent forcing candidates into taking either position. According to their model, plurality, runoff voting, and approval voting with a higher approval threshold tended to elect extremists (100%, 98%, and 94% of the time, respectively); majority judgement elected both centrists and extremists (56% extremists); and range, Borda, and approval voting with a lower approval threshold elected centrists (6%; 0.25–13% depending on the number of candidates; and 6% extremists; respectively).[41] However, their model did not take into account voters' strategic reactions to the method used, such as "lesser of two evils" voting under plurality.
Simulated elections in a two-dimensional issue space can also be graphed to visually compare election methods; this illustrates issues like nonmonotonicity, clone-independence, and tendency to elect centrists vs extremists.[42]
In addition to the above criteria, voting methods are judged using criteria that are not mathematically precise but are still important, such as simplicity, speed of vote-counting, the potential for fraud or disputed results, the opportunity for tactical voting or strategic nomination, and, for multiple-winner methods, the degree of proportionality produced.
The New Zealand Royal Commission on the Electoral System listed ten criteria for their evaluation of possible new electoral methods for New Zealand. These included fairness between political parties, effective representation of minority[43] or special interest groups, political integration, effective voter participation and legitimacy.
The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Social:Comparison_of_electoral_systems