[EM] Adding or Removing Choices
Bart Ingles
bartman at netgate.net
Tue Jul 18 20:18:52 PDT 2000
This sort of misses the point. Most examples which add ballots to an
initial example are concerned with showing how adding votes causes D to
lose, or some such anomaly. Sort of "man bites dog." The examples
below are "dog bites man."
DEMOREP1 at aol.com wrote:
>
> Various test standards for various methods involve what happens when a choice
> is added or removed. I say again - such standards are irrelevant. An
> election is based on the votes cast.
>
> Elementary examples---
>
> 35 ABC
> 34 BCA
> 31 CAB
> 100
>
> A>B>C>A
>
> D is added in various places
>
> 35 DABC
> 34 DBCA
> 31 DCAB
> 100
>
> Wow. D gets 100 first place votes. Does D win ???
>
> 35 ADBC
> 34 BDCA
> 31 CDAB
> 100
>
> Wow again. D beats each candidate head to head (even with zero first choice
> votes). Does D win ???
>
> 35 ABDC
> 34 BCDA
> 31 CADB
> 100
>
> Wow again. D is beat by each candidate head to head. Does D lose ???
>
> 35 ABCD
> 34 BCAD
> 31 CABD
> 100
>
> Wow again. D is last on all ballots. Does D lose ???
>
> If there were 4 choices at the beginning and D was removed, then some other
> choice would win (where D won). Amazing.
>
> Thus, it is no big surprise that adding (or removing) choices causes
> different results. Namely -- ALL of the standards involving the adding or
> removing of choices are totally useless.
>
> It would also seem that removing choices one or more at a time (such as head
> to head worst defeated choices) is improper (unless the choice is a Condorcet
> loser).
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