Making Votes Count

The outcome of elections that offer more than two alternatives but
with no preference by a majority, is determined more by the voting
procedure used than by the votes themselves. Mathematicians have
shown that in such elections, illogical results are more likely
than not. For example, the majority of this group want to go to a
warm place, but the South Pole is the group.s plurality winner. So
if these people choose their group.s vacation destination in the
same way most elections are conducted, they will all go to the
South Pole and six people will be disappointed, if not frostbitten.
Elections in which only the top preference of each voter is counted
are equivalent to a school choosing its best student based only on
the number of A.s earned. The inequity of such a situation has led
to the development of other voting methods. In one method, points
are assigned to choices, just as they are to grades. Using this
procedure, these people will vacation in a warm place a more
desirable conclusion for the group. Mathematicians study voting
methods in hopes of finding equitable procedures, so that no one is
unfairly left out in the cold. For more information: Chaotic
Elections: A Mathematician Looks at Voting, Donald Saari