[EM] Plotting 2D issue space using relative preference data. A toy/tool

[Kevin Venzke]

Hello, I added a function on my website which tries to arrange voters and candidates on a 2D spectrum, based on submitted rankings (or random ones). You can see it at:

votingmethods.net/median

If you for example enter ballots that look suggestive of a 1D spectrum:

10 A>B>C>D>E
10 B>A>C>D>E
10 C>D>B>A>E
10 D>C>E>B>A
10 E>D>C>B>A

You may very well get an arrangement of voters that looks like a line.

If you enter a basic cycle:

33 A>B>C
33 B>C>A
33 C>A>B

The voters and candidates will be drawn roughly in a circle.

I draw two gray lines to try to find the center of gravity of the plot, although this may not give a consistent result, and indeed may not land on any voter (contrary to the premise of the page).

Kevin