When Math Warps Elections.
Basically the article spoke of online polls but compared them to the interaction of math and elections. Say you pick from a candidate of 8 and rank them from 1 to 8. There are 3 different methods of chosing a winner that produces different results each time. She then concluded
election outcomes can more accurately reflect the choice of an election rule than the voter's wishes.
Now at first I was like what????.....then went on to read the rest of the principle.
Say in your state you ranked the Republican candidates, McCain, Huckabee, Romney, and Giuliani. Now if you were in any of the primaries before a candidate dropped out, say out of 30 voters:
3 prefer McCain then Huckabee then Romney then Giuliani
6 prefer McCain then Romney then Huckabee then Giuliani
3 prefer Giuliani then Huckabee then Romney then McCain
5 prefer Giuliani then Romney then Huckabee then McCain
2 prefer Huckabee then Giuliani then Romney then McCain
5 prefer Huckabee then Romney then Giuliani then McCain
2 prefer Romney then Giuliani then Huckabee then McCain
4 prefer Romney then Huckabee then Giuliani then McCain
In some states, this would mean that McCain wins with 9 1st place votes, trailed by Giuliani with 8, then Huckabee with 7, and Romney with 6.
But Huckabee drops out. So you cross out his name where he came in first and notice who is now the 1st choice (2 of his points go to Giuliani and 5 with Romney). This pushes Romney who was in last place to 1st with 11 1st place voters.
This is actually what some states use....what is called plurality voting which can produce a winner based on the least acceptable to the majority of voters.
Hubs and I got into a heated debate last night about this. He thinks if a candidate drops out, a new ballot is made and given to that state without that name on it. I say no way jose is that done. America does not work like that and if a primary was in 2 days there would be no way a new paper ballot was made and distributed in time. I say the name is still on the ticket.
So if the candidate drops out yet is still voted for and using the principle above, who exactly is getting the votes? Do they go to the one who had the next highest votes or do they go in the undecided pool? Did you know that every state handles that different?
Maybe this is why every presidential election, I have to choose not who I think the best candidate is, but who is the best of the 2 evils.
In IL for instance, one cannot vote for the best candidate nor cross party lines in the primary. I actually try not to vote in primaries for this very reason. I hate that! So in IL, in the primary we either have to choose a Democratic ticket or a Republican ticket. You can't say choose a Democratic president and a Republican State's Attorney. You are not given that choice. But wait it gets better: if you picked say Obama, you have to pick his delegates for him to actually get your vote. If you pick other people, he wouldn't get your vote even though you voted for him.
American politics......at its finest.
