[EM] STV with which quota?

[James Gilmour]

> From: stephane.rouillon at sympatico.ca  Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 2:04 PM
> 
> But all it proves is that sometimes it can happen
> that Droop quota leads to a more proportional result than Hare quota.

The fact that it happens at all shows that the use of the Hare quota is flawed.

> Although I haven't yet finished my analysis, my actual 
> feeling is that Hare would usually lead to a more 
> proportional result. 

This statement makes no sense to me, especially in view of the result illustrated.

>This is the point I would like to 
> benefit from any EM member analysis or I'll do it myself.  

OK, analyse away.

> All I have concluded yet is that using any quota, any 
> candidate that reaches the Droop quota will get elected.

This is the practical reason for adopting the Droop quota, especially in manual counts, which of course have dominated
the 100-years of practical use of STV-PR.  The theoretical concept of idealised proportional representation for a
5-member district is of identifying the 5 candidates who can each secure the support of exactly one-fifth of the voters,
and we ask the voters to re-sort themselves (or their votes) until that ideal is obtained.  This is five Hare quotas.
But we see that if five candidates can each secure a Droop quota of support, those five must be the five winners,
because there is less than one quota of votes left for the runner up.  So we get to inevitable result more quickly, with
less shuffling of ballot papers, if we use the Droop quota.

I know there are those who believe every ballot paper should be transferred and transferred until no further transfers
are possible, but those who promote this view have lost sight completely of the purpose of an election.  It is, quite
simply, to elect the required number of candidates to the vacant seats in a way that proportionally represents the
voters' wishes.  For that, the purpose of the election, you do not need to continue the paper shuffling beyond finding
the required number of Droop quota winners.
James