[EM] Does IRV elect "majority winners?"

[Abd ul-Rahman Lomax]

At 07:44 PM 1/3/2009, Dave Ketchum wrote:
>BTW, I would not do runoffs with Condorcet, even with cycles - 
>promise of no runoffs can encourage more careful preparation for the 
>primary vote where Condorcet allows complete ranking.

Perhaps. Perhaps not. That can be a *lot* of preparation, and people 
are busy, many don't already, find time for voting. Bullet voting is 
simple, it can be relatively easy to know who your favorite is.

And when it isn't easy to know, having trouble deciding between two, 
Open Voting (Approval) allows a simple option: vote for both!

If any Condorcet method is used, it should allow equal ranking, 
because this *allows* more sincere voting, in fact.

However, majority vote and avoidance of all runoffs are two 
incompatible goals. So the question is, how important is it that a 
majority of those voting support the winner?

I'd say it is a bare minimum! We have a defective democracy when we 
elect with other than a majority, either of voters directly, or 
through chosen representatives. Where representation is involved, we 
have a defective democracy even with a majority!