[EM] Dual Dropping method and "Preference Approval" ballot ideas

[matt at tidalwave.net]

These ideas are attempts to achieve marginal improvements through some 
tweaking.

The first idea is to combine SSD and RP by using "dropping cost" as the common 
measure and utilizing the outcome of the method that has the lower dropping cost in 
a given election when the two outcomes do not overlap.  I called this combination 
Dual Dropping (DD).  For a description see 
http://sourceforge.net/docman/display_doc.php?docid=9910&group_id=48126
Why use just SSD or RP when both can be logically combined?  Maybe this 
combination is one of the rare win-win situations that has no down side?  Can 
anyone show an overall disadvantage to making minimizing dropping cost a goal?

Another idea is what I call a "Preference Approval" ballot.  All of the approved 
candidate rankings relative to _all_ of the other candidates are counted but the 
rankings of non-approved candidates against each other are not counted.  In other 
words, the voter ranks just rees (rees=his/hers) approved candidates (any ranking 
of non-approved candidate is disregarded).  The ballots are completed (all of the 
non-approved candidates are appended to the ballot as least preferred candidates) 
before being tallied but the tally itself does not increase the vote count of the any of 
the non-approved candidates (no half vote each for being ranked equal with each 
other).  Combining approval and preference this way addresses the "comparing 
apples with oranges" problem of preference ballots giving equal weight to approved 
and non-approved candidates.  Unfortunately this may also provide more strategic 
voting opportunity than either approval or preference balloting alone.

----
For more information about this list (subscribe, unsubscribe, FAQ, etc), 
please see http://www.eskimo.com/~robla/em