[EM] OpenSTV 1.6 and DemoChoice

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

The OpenSTV and DemoChoice projects are pleased to announce a joint
effort -- the voter interface system of DemoChoice and the vote
counting engine of OpenSTV.  Please go to
http://openstv.demochoice.org to create your own poll.

DemoChoice allows a user to create an online election where people can
vote using ranked ballots.  The voters can be identified by email, and
authentication techniques are available to provide security. The
results can be displayed online using various types of charts and
tables.  Most of OpenSTV's election methods are supported.

OpenSTV (available at http://www.openstv.org/) counts ranked ballots
using variety of counting methods, including those used by
governments.  OpenSTV has been tested against actual election results
and against other vote counting software.  Available methods include
Cambridge (USA) STV, Scottish STV, ERS97 STV, instant runoff voting,
Condorcet, and others.  To receive announcements regarding OpenSTV,
join the email list at http://groups.google.com/group/openstv-announce

Additionally, version 1.6 of OpenSTV is now available, which includes
a desktop application to count and edit votes.  New features of
OpenSTV include: (1) ties can be broken manually in addition to
randomly, (2) plugin support for different election report types, (3)
allows ballots with duplicate and skipped rankings and ballot IDs, and
(4) improvements to speed and usability.  Download links available at
http://www.openstv.org/download