[EM] candidate withdrawal & IRV - what should the rules be?

[Jan Kok]

A couple weeks ago Forest Simmons suggested the candidate withdrawal
option as a way of improving most election methods. I just realized
that the candidate withdrawal option would greatly mitigate the center
squeeze problem with IRV. (Sometimes it takes a while for other
people's ideas to sink into my thick skull :-)

Are there cases where candidate withdrawal could make things worse?

Maybe I could propose this to the Denver group, if they are determined
to go ahead with IRV.

So, what should the rules be for candidate withdrawal with IRV? Should
candidates be allowed to withdraw at any time (including after the IRV
count is done, causing the IRV count to be restarted from the
beginning, or restarted at a particular step), or is there a need for
restrictions?

Thanks,
- Jan