[EM] Subtract 1 from Dimensions

[josh at narins.net]

On Mon, May 26, 2003 at 11:55:54PM +0200, Kevin Venzke wrote:
>  --- josh at narins.net a ?crit?: 
> > Yeah. FPTP=1 dimensional
> > Condorcet=2 dimensional
> > Matrix=3 dimensional
> > Matrix+States of the world=4 dimensional
> 
> I remember "Matrix" being a "two-dimensional ballot."  How do you figure
> that is 3D?  And what is 2D about Condorcet, besides the 2D pairwise
> matrix it shares with the "Matrix" method?

Ack, subtract 1 from all the numbers.
FPTP is point, or zero dimensional
Condorcet can be represented on a line
but this matrix vote can not, which is what makes it planar

   A   B   C
A      A   C
B          B
C

although matrix ballots can be tabulated the same as condorcet, the
ballot itself can be more expressive (take an example of a person who
chooses Browne and Buchanan over Gore, but doesn't make a distinction
between Browne or Buchanan.)

> > The Electoral College is _some_ defense, IF the malfeasance is traced
> > back to the opposition before the day they vote.
> 
> This made me laugh at you.  "A ballot of infinite pages would be ideal,
> but in the meantime, we have the Electoral College."

Actually, avoiding this type of problem is part of the stated reason for
the existence of the Electoral College, avoiding inflamed passions of
the voters.

The situation is more difficult now because 1, the post in question
might be US President, a very high stakes gig and 2, a fake newspaper
story before is nothing compared to a worldwide fake internet campaign

The last election included a third party reporter unearthing the fact
that bush had lied about his DUI, three days before the election.

With time that short, it is very difficult for someone to corroborate
the facts, or even for a major news producer to figure out whether the
public has a right to know something important but unconfirmed.

Turns out the story was true, and the media did everyone a disservice by
doing everything possible to make it sound like a politically motivated
attack, including attempts to lay the blame squarely at the feet of
the Gore camp.  (allegations repeated, with much less substantiation
than the DUI charge, in the 24 hours before the polls opened.)

Another time I had to pick two people out of 5 for a panel. I wanted the
panel to be balanced, so I voted "X for sure, Y if X wins, Z if X
doesn't".  Luckily, the voting population was small enough, and the
clerk had a good enough sense of humor to allow it.

Certainly it wasn't a question of unclear intent.

By the way, as an alternative for a lifetime jail sentence for Bush, a
lifetime banishment to Iraq and Afghanistan would be OK, as long as he
is prevented from entering the oil or government sectors.