Steve's 46AB 20B 34(C or D)

[Steve Eppley]

Donald D wrote:
>>>It is improper to add second selections to first selections -
>
>Steve wrote:
>>Condorcet does not add second selections to first selections.
>
>Condorcet does so - all the time. Case in point - your example.
-snip-

Sorry, you're being too sloppy with the language.  Condorcet may add
the ballots where a candidate is first to some of the ballots where
the candidate is second, but not in general to all.  See my 12/5/96
reply to Demorep on this point.

What matters isn't whether a candidate was ranked in the top two on
ballots.  What matters is whether the ballot ranked the candidate
ahead of another candidate.  

For instance, when tallying the A vs B pairing, you wouldn't add to
A's count any ballots where B is first and A is second.  But by your
oversimplistic language, you'd apparently count these, which ought
to be votes for B in A vs B, for both A and B in A vs B.

  45  ABC
  55  BAC

  Apparently Condorcet-Donald would add A's first and second choices: 
     45+55=100
  Apparently Condorcet-Donald would add B's first and second choices: 
     55+45=100
  Apparently Condorcet-Donald would say A ties B.  Duh.

The rest of your post about how the 34 C voters ought to transfer
their votes to a candidate D who wasn't running was thoughtless and
not worth a reply.  Apparently you'd make it illegal for the C
voters to rank B second, or at least insist on ignoring their voted
preference for B over A.

---Steve     (Steve Eppley    seppley at alumni.caltech.edu)