====================================================================== SOURCE FILE: equal_support_runoff_demo.yaml TABULATED FILE: equal_support_runoff_demo_tabulated.txt ====================================================================== election_title: Equal Support — counted in both rounds, neutral only in the tie-break scenario_description: |- 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. voting_method: STAR num_winners: 1 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 expected_winners: - A # file: equal_support_runoff_demo.yaml ====================================================================== TABULATION RESULTS ====================================================================== === Equal Support — counted in both rounds, neutral only in the tie-break === 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. --- 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 --- 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 [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 [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