when is defensive strategy needed?

[Mike Ositoff]

In a recent posting I said that the merit of a method depends
on what defensive strategy voters need, with that method.

In that regard, Approval is better than Margins & IRO, and
VA is better than Approval.

But there's another issue of merit: when defensive strategy
is needed at all.

VA is better than any other method, because it doesn't require
any defensive strategy unless the offensive strategy
of order-reversal is used. Considering how well it deters
order-reversal, then in actual use VA probably wouldln't
require any defensive strategy. As risky as order-reversal
is in VA, it would be unlikely to occur on a scale that could
change the election result.

Mike