[EM] Statistical analysis of Voter Models versus real life voting

[Juho Laatu]

Simplified models can be used to prove something about "real life" if one assumes that the model is accurate enough for the situation in question. 2D models are often very good in demonstrating and visualizing some properties of voting methods. But they can thus not be assumed to prove some generic results (with no assumptions on the applicability of the used model).

For many cases Yee and 2D models, with some chosen voter distribution etc. may work very well, but one has to check and justify their applicability well before drawing any strong conclusions.

Juho Laatu



On 28.1.2011, at 15.49, Leon Smith wrote:

> There are a couple different (honest) voter models that have commonly
> been used.   The two used in Warren's Bayesian Regret simulations and
> ranked Yee diagrams come to mind, of course.
> 
> Given access to enough data of fully-ranked,  it seems to me that it
> should be possible,  especially with a Yee model,  to somehow
> determine how well that model fits real life.   Is a 2-d euclidean
> plane a with voters ranking based on distance from the candidates a
> reasonable model?   How would you analyze this?
> 
> Best,
> Leon
> ----
> Election-Methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info