[EM] Simplest Condorcet method to hand count?

[Steve Eppley]

Etjon, you didn't say why you think hand-counting is important.  If your goal is to allow an election to be counted by a society that can't even afford a cheap smartphone, I don't think this cost is a show-stopping barrier, since smartphones are ubiquitous.  So why settle for an inferior tallying algorithm?

Given a smartphone or pc, a person could type the contents of ranked ballots into text files, one ballot per row.  (The names of the candidates or parties or propositions can be abbreviated using agreed initials, to reduce labor.)  Given multiple phones, the labor could be shared among multiple typists.  If the group is small, one typist (the group's secretary) should suffice.  The text file(s) can be pasted into tallying software installed once (in advance) on the phone or pc (or at a website, given an internet connection).

It's probably quicker & less error-prone to type the ballots into text files and verify by eye that the text files accurately represent the paper ballots than to count by hand and verify by hand the accuracy of the counting.  Typing & verifying text file copies wouldn't require any experience with or understanding of the tallying algorithm.  And it would allow tallying by multiple algorithms at no extra labor cost, for the purpose of comparing different algorithms.

--Steve Eppley


On 5/22/2025 6:40 AM, Etjon Basha via Election-Methods wrote:
> Good evening gentlemen,
>
> I've been pondering the above issue, and already consulted Gemini who disagrees with me on the practicality of pairwise matrices, so couldn't help a lot.
>
> I suspect that compiling pairwise matrices in the context of a hand counted election would be very time consuming, and quite prone to errors and challenges from all parties. 
>
> Assuming we agree on this (which you might not) is there any practical Condorcet method can can be hand counted? 
>
> I suspect Nanson is a reasonable candidate. Yes, it still requires log(candidates,2) counting rounds, and each of those rounds require sending a matrix of how many times each candidate was ranked in which position to a central location, so quite the bother indeed. 
>
> Yet, I suspect this task can at least be completed within acceptable timeframes with an acceptable error rate by most volunteers.
>
> (Interestingly, Gemini considers Copeland easier to hand count than Nanson, which I disagree with)
>
> Are there any simpler methods I'm unaware off, despite any other shortcomings such a method might have?
>
> Best regards,
> Etjon
>
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