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rating of 7.  There are some candidates that you think are better than 
him.  However, your sincere utilities for the candidate is lower than 7.  
Therefore, you need to put the candidates who you think are better above 7 
on your ballot paper.

If this were a simple "Approval vote", then you would have no choice but 
to put the candidates in the top most slot.  However, on the Median 
Ratings ballot paper, you have the choice of using slots 8, 9 or 10.

Let's say you somehow managed to make an initial choice of which of those 
3 slots you would put those candidates.  Next, you hear that what you 
consider to be the middle choice of those candidates is predicted to win 
with a median of 10.  Hmmm.  You think that the candidates above this 
candidate are, in your opinion, miles better than him.  So you put the 
predicted winner in slot 8 plus the ones who are worse than him and try to 
cram the remaining candidates into the remaining 2 slots.

Hmmm.  I don't know whether after typing in the above I am convincing 
myself that Median Ratings may not be quite that bad.  Though this does 
depend on the number of rating levels there are.

For example, 100 levels had been discussed on this list a long long time 
ago together with a disadvantage, which I can't quite remember.  Yes.  I 
remember now.  To simplify, imagine an election that is clearly dominated 
by two candidates.

(1) 49% of the voters sincerely gives one of the candidates a rating of 10.
(2) 51% of the voters sincerely gives the candidate a rating of 5.
(3) 51% of the voters sincerely gives the other candidate a rating of 6.
(4) 49% of the voters sincerely gives the candidate a rating of 5.

Guess who wins.

Anyway, regardless of the above, isn't the better strategy to use in this 
11 level Median Ratings vote the Approval Strategy?  That is, use only 
slots 10 and 0.

Or, with the prediction that the candidate is going to get a median rating 
of 7, may be you should put that candidate into slot 0 plus all of the 
ones who are worse, and then somehow spread out the remaining candidates 
between slots 1 and 10 inclusive?

I am open to comments/criticisms here...

Thanks,
Gervase.