[EM] Minor correction of a statement

MIKE OSSIPOFF nkklrp at hotmail.com
Wed Feb 18 21:56:02 PST 2004


I said that the automatic equal ranking option can't possibly worsen 
someone's result. But, in BeatpathWinner, there could be two below-line 
candidates who have beatpath wins over all the others, and your more 
preferred of those two barely has a beatpath win against the other.

But that beatpath from the more preferred to the less preferred of those two 
below-line candidates includes a defeat between two of your above-line 
candidates. When you, and a few like you, promote all the above-line 
candidates to 1st place, you reduce the strength of that beatpath from the 
more preferred to the less preferred of those two below-line candidates. So, 
where the more preferred one won before your 1st choice promotions, the less 
preferred one wins after you've promoted the above-line candidates to 1st 
place.

But of course it could just as well go the other way, and change the winner 
from the less preferred to the more preferred of those 2 below-line 
candidates. So that effect seems neutral with respect to your expectation.

But the automatic equal ranking could change the winner from a below-line 
candidate to an above-line candidate, and couldn't do the opposite. So it 
would seem that the automatic equal ranking improves your expectation.

Also, for the voter who considers the merit differences on either side of 
the line to be negligible compared to the merit differences across the line, 
of course the use of the option could only negligily worsen that voter's 
outcome.

Mike Ossipoff

_________________________________________________________________
Say “good-bye” to spam, viruses and pop-ups with MSN Premium -- free trial 
offer! http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200359ave/direct/01/




More information about the Election-Methods mailing list