[EM] encourage dishonesty / range / WDS reply to robla

[Eric Gorr]

Warren Smith wrote:
> 
>>Robla:  Rob Lanphier wrote:
>>
>>>Hi Warren,
>>>I'm interested in Range Voting, since it appears to be popular among
>>>many electoral reform advocates here.
>>>
>>
>>I too get the impression that it is generally considered among the  
>>best voting method possible, BUT for one truly fatal flaw. It  
>>suffers from the fact that it encourages dishonest voting. Why? It  
>>is one of the voting methods in which voters are able to  
>>effectively vote strategically with zero information about how the  
>>other voters are going to vote - basically  they merely provide the  
>>highest possible ranking to those candidates they want to see win  
>>and the lowest possible ranking to those they don't. 
> 
> 
> REPLY BY WDS:
> --That is an interesting but in fact false point.
> Specifically, it is NOT possible to determine your strategically-optimal range vote
> working without any information about what the other voters are doing.

Yes, it is.

Simply decide who you wouldn't mind seeing as the winner and give them 
the highest possible ranking. Everyone else, give them the lowest 
possible ranking. No information about what other voters are doing is 
required.

By doing this, you simply cannot help any other candidate to win that 
you would not want to defeat those candidates you would like to see win 
  and this is optimal for any rational voter.

Of course, Range Voting is an excellent method to make use of where one 
would not expect voters to vote strategically, but such cases are far 
and few between.


-- 
== Eric Gorr ========= http://www.ericgorr.net ========= ICQ:9293199 ==
"Those who would sacrifice a little freedom for temporal safety
deserve neither to be safe or free." -- Benjamin Franklin
== Insults, like violence, are the last refuge of the incompetent... ===