[EM] More from Salva on Salva Voting

[Donald E Davison]

  ----------- Forwarded Letter ------------
From: Salva
To: "Donald E Davison" <donald at mich.com>
Subject: Re: I call it Salva Voting
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 01:53:48 +0200

-----Original Message-----
From: Donald E Davison <donald at mich.com>
To: Salva
Date: miércoles, 14 de abril de 1999 20:40
Subject: I call it Salva Voting

[Don wrote]
>Dear Salva,
>
>     Your method seems to be a form of Approval Voting. A form that uses
>the lower choices of only the ballots that are not in the tally of the
>first 100 candidates.

Well, I think in Approval Voting you give more than one vote, one vote to
every candidate you like up to a maximum of a pre-determinate number of
candidates. In my method you actually vote for only one candidate by ranking
all the candidates. So I wouldn't say it is a form of AV, I think it more
like STV, isnt it?

>
>     I feel that you are on to something with this method. Therefore I am
>going to call it Salva Voting - being as no one has claimed another name
>for the method.
>
>     You did not state if the 100 member parliament were elected via single
>seat districts or in an One Area Election,

I was thinking in districts that elect many seats each one (ideally all of
them, in a single district) by some proportional formula (Hare Quota or
Sainte-Laguë Law)...however, as you say, it would work in all cases.

>but it appears the math would
>work in either. And because the method will function in a single seat
>district, this also makes Salva Voting a single winner method.
>
>     Salva Voting has a number of good points:
>
>     1) Salva Voting will always confirm the majority winner if we have one
>on the first count of the ballots. Approval Voting will not always confirm
>the majority winner.
>     2) The lower choices do not help defeat the first choice.

I think the beauty of this method is precisely that all the
non-represented-in-the-first-count options can agree in their lower options
and thus help a non winning candidate to become the winner.
I suppose that what you mean is that lower choices of ballots that obtain
representation in the first count don't help defeat the first choice, which
is true. It is true because lower options of ballots that obtain
representation in a previous count are not used.

>     3) Salva Voting does not eliminate candidates.
>     4) Salva Voting will never end up in a circular tie.

And another, and for me, very important (maybe not from the math point of
view, but very important from the voter point of view, making it a very fair
method), good point: It uses ALL the ballots, not one is wasted
(I think any election method should contemplate the use of all the ballots
to be a fair one)

>
>     People who are more interested in single winner methods should examine
>Salva Voting. It may be the best single winner method.
>
>Regards,
>Donald
>
>
>

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