[EM] Condorcet question - why not bullet vote

[Peter Zbornik]

Dear all, dear Markus Schulze,

I got a second question from one of our members (actually the same guy which
asked for the first time):
If I just bullet vote in a Condorcet election, then I increase the chances
of my candidate being elected.
If I have a second or third option, the chances of my prefered candidate to
win is lowered.
Q: In this case why should any voter not bullet-vote?
I have some clue on how to answer, but not enough for an exhaustive answer.

My argument starts:
If I vote for a candidate who has >50% of the votes, then it does not matter
if there is a second or third choice.
If my prefered candidate A gets <50%  of the votes, then it makes sense to
support a second choice candidate B.
However if the supporters of B only bullet vote, then maybe B's supporters
get an advantage over A?
... at this point I realize, that I don't know enough about Condorcet and/or
Schulze to answer the question.

Why is it not rational to bullet vote in a Condorcet election if you are
allowed not to rank some candidates?
I guess you have discussed this question a zillion of times, so please
forgive my ignorance.

Maybe you could help me out with this one.

Peter
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.electorama.com/pipermail/election-methods-electorama.com/attachments/20100616/453438bc/attachment-0003.htm>