Equal Support — counted in both rounds, neutral only in the tie-break¶

Generated from equal_support_runoff_demo.yaml — do not edit by hand. Regenerate: python STARVote_LH_tabulation_engine/tools_adam/scripts/build_yaml_pages.py.

Method: STAR (single winner) · 1 seat · Expected winner: A

Scenario¶

A demo for the "discounted votes" objection. 100 voters, candidates A, B, C.

40 voters score A=5 AND B=5 (they love both) and C=0. 35 prefer A (A=5, B=3). 25 prefer C (A=0, B=0, C=5).

Scoring Round: A and B have the highest totals and advance — and the 40 "equal support" ballots are exactly what pushed them there. So those ballots were COUNTED: they chose the finalists.

Automatic Runoff: between A and B, the 40 equal-A-B ballots and the 25 C-lovers (who scored both finalists 0) have no preference, so they are "Equal Support." The runoff is decided by the 35 voters who did prefer one finalist: A wins.

Takeaway: an Equal Support ballot is a voter who DECLARED A TIE between the finalists, not a voter who lost their voice. It counted in the scoring round and is simply neutral in a tie-break it has no preference in.

Ballots¶

The ballots as marked — the filled bubble is the score given, and the score is the number in its column:

#	A	B	C
1	5	5	0
2	5	3	0
3	0	0	5

The same ballots as the file records them:

Row 1 = candidate names; each later row is one voter's 0–5 scores (a N × prefix = N identical ballots).

Count:A,B,C
40:5,5,0   # love BOTH A and B -> helps advance them; neutral in the runoff
35:5,3,0   # prefer A over B -> decides the runoff
25:0,0,5   # prefer C -> no preference between A and B

What the engine says¶

The count, step by step — the rounds and how the winner is reached:

--- STAR Voting Method (single winner) ---

[STAR Voting]
 Tabulating 100 ballots.
Count × A,B,C
   40 × 5,5,0
   35 × 5,3,0
   25 × 0,0,5

[STAR Voting: Scoring Round]
 The two highest-scoring candidates advance to the next round.
   A             -- 375 -- First place
   B             -- 305 -- Second place
   C             -- 125
 A and B advance.

[STAR Voting: Automatic Runoff Round]
 The candidate preferred in the most head-to-head matchups wins.
   A             -- 35 -- First place
   B             --  0
   Equal Support -- 65
 A wins.
   Runoff math:
     100  ballots cast
   −  65  Equal Support (no preference between the two finalists)
     ───
      35  voters with a preference  (majority = 18)
           A 35 (100%)  ·  B 0 (0%)

[STAR Voting: Winner — STAR Voting Method (single winner)]
 A

Full audit — preference matrix, Condorcet, and score distribution¶

--- Runoff (Preference) Matrix ---
Head-to-head / pairwise comparison
Legend: For - Equal Support - Against
        * indicates Top 2 Finalist
                 |     * A      |    * B      |      C      |
-------------------------------------------------------------
           * A > |     ---      |35 - 65 -  0 |75 -  0 - 25 |
           * B > |  0 - 65 - 35 |    ---      |75 -  0 - 25 |
             C > | 25 -  0 - 75 |25 -  0 - 75 |    ---      |

[Condorcet Winner]
  Condorcet Winner: A — matches the STAR winner

[Condorcet Loser]
  Condorcet Loser: C — loses every head-to-head matchup

[Score Distribution] (how many ballots gave each star rating)
                   Score
Candidate   5   4   3   2   1   0  | Total   Avg
A          75   0   0   0   0  25  |   375   3.8
B          40   0  35   0   0  25  |   305   3.1
C          25   0   0   0   0  75  |   125   1.3

Everything in one file: the _tabulated mirror (regenerated on every run; every analysis forced on).

Run it yourself:

python STARVote_LH_tabulation_engine/starvote_larry_hastings.py 01_STAR/02_Examples/cases/equal_support_runoff_demo.yaml

Equal Support — counted in both rounds, neutral only in the tie-break¶

Scenario¶

Ballots¶

What the engine says¶

Full audit — preference matrix, Condorcet, and score distribution¶

See also¶