I worked out a new, simpler way to explain CMJ based on a Bucklin-like process. To accord better with this improved explanation, I'm renaming the system to GMJ, or Graduated Majority Judgment. Here's the explanation:<div>
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===Ballot===</dd></dl><dl style="margin-top:0.2em;margin-bottom:0.5em;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.049999237060547px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><dd style="line-height:1.5em;margin-left:2em;margin-bottom:0.1em">
<strong>The ballot will ask you to grade each candidate</strong> on a scale from A (excellent) to F (unacceptable). You may give two candidates the same grade if you wish. Any candidate whom you do not explicitly grade will get an F from you.</dd>
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===Counting===</dd></dl><dl style="margin-top:0.2em;margin-bottom:0.5em;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.049999237060547px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><dd style="line-height:1.5em;margin-left:2em;margin-bottom:0.1em">
To find the winner, first the "A" votes for each candidate are counted. If no candidate gets over 50% of the voters, the "B" votes are added to the count, then "C" votes, etc. <strong>The first candidate to get over 50% is the winner.</strong> If two candidates would reach 50% at the same grade, each candidate's votes for that grade are added gradually, and the winner is the one who needs the smallest portion of those votes to reach 50%.</dd>
</dl><dl style="margin-top:0.2em;margin-bottom:0.5em;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><dd style="font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:1.5em;margin-left:2em;margin-bottom:0.1em">This gradual process can be stated as a "graduated score" for each candidate. If a candidate reaches 50% using 8/10 of their "C" votes (along with all their A and B votes), then their graduated score would be 1.7 (a C-). Another candidate who needed only 2/10 of their "C" votes to reach 50% would have a graduated score of 2.3 (a C+), so between those two candidates the second would be the winner.</dd>
<br>The "graduated score" mentioned above is exactly the same as the old CMJ score, and the old formula can be used. </dl><dl style="margin-top:0.2em;margin-bottom:0.5em;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">As you can see, this conception of gradually adding the votes in cases of ties is very natural. In fact, I now feel that this is clearly the <b>most</b> natural extension of Bucklin to the fully-evaluative (graded/cardinal/equal and skipped rankings) domain.</dl>
<dl style="margin-top:0.2em;margin-bottom:0.5em;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Jameson</dl></div>