[EM] STV bad example

[DEMOREP1 at aol.com]

The below is from another email list regarding election stuff.

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The [use of] STV [in a single member district] may serve to eliminate the 
preferred candidate who may be no one's first choice yet everyone's second 
choice.

Example: Let us assume an election where 100 voters must elect one of four 
candidates A, B, C and D. The electors may vote according to 24 patterns. For 
simplicity's sake, let us assume that they vote according to three patterns 
only and that candidate B is second in all three patterns (3rd and 4th ranks 
are immaterial but let us assume that they divide the votes.)

The patterns are ABXX, CBXX, DBXX.

Let us now assume the following results:

ABXX = 40
CBXX = 36
DBXX = 24
total  = 100

An analysis of the results will reveal that B is preferred to A by 60 votes, 
to C by 64 votes and to D by 76 votes. While B is preferred to all other 
candidates, with STV, candidate B would have been eliminated.