[EM] Olli - Your Truncation error in STV:

[Olli Salmi]

At 17:23 +0100 10.8.2003, James Gilmour wrote:
>  > It's the same with Northern Ireland rules, but they only
>>  transfer whole votes.
>
>I do not think the second part of this statement is correct.
>
>Statutory Instrument 1985 No 454 "The Local Elections (Northern 
>Ireland) Order 1985" Rule 49
>"Transfer of votes" Paragraph (4) states:
>"The vote on each ballot paper transferred under paragraph (3) shall 
>be at a value ("the transfer
>value") which -
>(a) reduces the value of each vote transferred so that the total 
>value of all such votes does not
>exceed the surplus, and
>(b) is calculated by dividing the surplus of the candidate from whom 
>the votes are being transferred
>by the total number of ballot paper on which those votes are given, 
>the calculation being made to
>two decimal places (ignoring the remainder if any)."
>
>Leaving aside a possible confusion between 'the value of a vote' and 
>'the value of a ballot paper',
>I read this to mean that transfers are made with values calculated 
>to two decimal places, not with
>only whole votes.  Certainly all the official results sheets show 
>transfers with two places of
>decimals.

You're right. It still wastes votes, doesn't it?

Olli Salmi