[EM] Disapproval Voting

[MIKE OSSIPOFF]

>An addition to Approval Voting for low tech (repeat low tech) elections-
>namely, Disapproval Voting (i.e. a negative one vote)
>
>App = Approval, Neu = Neutral (Do not care), Dis = Disapproval
>
>Sample Ballot
>
>           App    Neu      Dis
>
>A                  X
>B        X
>C                             X
>D        X
>
>Net approval = Sum of Approval votes minus sum of Disapproval votes.
>
>Get those strategies working !!!
>

That's a method for which the strategy is already known. It's
the same as if we could give any candidate a point rating of
anywhere from zero to 2. Calling it 0 to 2 instead of -1 to 1
merely adds the same amount of points to everone's score.

That's what I've called a "Flexible Points" method, and which
has also been called "Cardinal Ratings", I believe. Voters
can give any candidate a rating between some minimum & some
maximum.

Your best strategy? Give the maximum to every candidate whose
strategic value is positive, and give the minimum to every
candidate whose strategic value is negative.

In other words, it's strategically equivalent to Approval.

***

Maybe I should repeat the definition of strategic value:

Ui is the utility of candidate i as judged by you.
Uj is the utility of candidate j

Pij is the probability that i & j will be the 2 frontrunners.

The strategic value of candidate i is:

The sum of Pij(Ui-Uj), over all j.

***

In Plurality, your best strategy is to vote for the candidate
with highest strategic value.

In Approval, vote for all the candidates with positive
strategic value.

***

Those are the strategies for maximizing your utility expectation
when frontrunner probabilities are available.

In public political elections voters vote according to estimates
of those probabilities.

But if nothing were known about frontrunner probabilities,then
in Plurality you should vote for your favorite, and in
Approval you should vote for those candidates whose utility
is better than the average.

Again, people's voting behavior in public political elections
shows that they do have estimates of frontrunner probabilities,
and are using the strategies that use those estimates, though
they might not word it that way if you ask them.

Mike Ossipoff



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