Lesson 7.

1 Methods of Voting

Lesson 7.1
METHODS OF VOTING

In Article blah blah blah, section blah blah blah

Learning Objective different fields of study, the major objective of many
statistical investigations is to establish relationships
At the end of the lesson, the students are able to among variables. An established relationship can be used
use mathematical concepts and tools in methods to predict one variable in terms of one or more variables.
of voting. For instance, studies are made to predict sales from
advertising cost and product packaging, or determine
students final grade in terms of the number of hours spent in studying for the final examination. This scheme
of investigation is referred as the Regression Analysis.
We vote not only for presidential and local elections but we vote also for our favorite entry in a
particular contest like dance festival, musical extravaganza, beauty pageants and the like. Now, how are we
going to determine the winner? Why sometimes the audience or even the board of judges won’t agree with
the final result? Is it broadly acceptable?
This section will illustrate four most commonly used voting methods. Moreover, fairness criteria is
presented for us to stop asking on which of these options is the fairest.
Some terminologies related to voting are as follows:

 A preference ballot is a form on which each voter ranks all eligible candidates,
from first to last place, with no tied ranks.

Rank Vote
st
1 A
2nd D
3rd B
4th C

 A preference table shows how many times each possible ballot was submitted.
Number of Votes

10 6 4 3 2
1st A B C A D
nd
Rank 2 B C D C C
3rd C A A D B
4th D D B B A

The table shows how 25 (10+6+4+3+2) cast their votes. 10 voters

ranked A first, B second, C third, and D fourth; 6 voters ranked B first, C
second, A third and D fourth; and so on.

Mathematics in the Modern World College of Arts & Sciences | Caraga State University | © 2018
 Lesson 7.1 Methods of Voting

Plurality Method
In the plurality method, whoever receives the most first-place votes is declared the winner. The
winning candidate does not have to have the majority (more than 50%) of the votes.

Condorcet Method
In the Condorcet method (popularized in the 18th century by Marquis de Condorcet [1743-1794]),
defeating every other candidate in a one-to-one contest using the majority rule is declared the winner.

Borda Count Method

The Borda count method is named after Jean-Charles de Borda (1733-1799). With 𝑛 candidates
in an election, each voter ranks the candidates by giving 𝑛 points to the voter’s first choice, 𝑛 − 1
points to the voter’s second choice, and so on, with the voter’s least favorite choice receiving 1
point. The candidate that receives the most total points is the winner.

Plurality with Elimination Method

Using the plurality with elimination method, the candidate with the smallest number of first-place
votes is eliminated. Retake a vote, keeping the same ranking preferences, and eliminate the
candidate with the smallest number of first-place votes. Continue until only one candidate remains.

In 1948, Kenneth J. Arrow was trying to develop material for his doctoral dissertation. His
investigation led him to outline various criteria for a fair voting system. A paraphrasing of four fairness
criteria is given below.

Fairness Criteria
1. Majority criterion: The candidate who receives a majority of the first-place votes is the winner.

2. Condorcet criterion: A candidate who wins all possible head-to-head matchups should win an
election when all the candidates appear on the ballot.

3. Monotonicity criterion: If candidate A wins an election, then candidate A will also win the election
if the only change in the voters’ preferences is that supporters of a different candidate change their
votes to support candidate A.

4. Independence of irrelevant alternatives: If a candidate wins an election, the winner should remain
the winner in any recount in which losing candidates withdraw from the race.

In [], you’ll see other criteria aside from the above-mentioned ones. But what Kenneth Arrow was sable
to prove is that no matter what kind of method system we devise, it is impossible for it to satisfy the
fairness criteria.

Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem

There is no voting method (nor will there ever be) that will satisfy a reasonable set of fairness criteria
when there are three or more candidates and two or more voters.

Mathematics in the Modern World College of Arts & Sciences | Caraga State University | © 2018
 Lesson 7.1 Methods of Voting

References

[1] E. Narag, Basic Statistics with Calculator and Computer Application, Manila, Philippines: Rex Book
Store, Inc., 2010.

[2] T. Galliguez, N. J. Gaquing, L. Quimbo, R. Conde, C. Pineda, M. Latayada and M. Nepa, Fundamentals
of Statistical Analysis, Butuan City, 2011.

[3] A. G. Bluman, Elementary Statistics: A Step-by-Step Approach (5th Edition), New York: McGraw - Hill
Book Companies, Inc., 2004.

[4] R. E. Walpole, Introduction to Statistics (3rd Edition), New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc., 1982.

Mathematics in the Modern World College of Arts & Sciences | Caraga State University | © 2018