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Same winner, very different counts — STAR adds, IRV eliminates

Bucket — APPROVAL_OR_MINOR: Only Approval differs

Generated by STARVote_LH_tabulation_engine/tools_adam/scripts/build_divergence_index.py — rebuilt from the election file; do not hand-edit.

What happens

STAR, RCV-IRV and Ranked Robin all agree on Carmen. Only Approval differs, electing Andre: Approval counts every score of 3–5 as one equal 'approve' and ignores intensity, rewarding Andre's breadth of acceptability over Carmen's stronger but more concentrated support. A threshold story about Approval, not a STAR-vs-IRV teaching case.

Winners by method

Method Winner
STAR Carmen
RCV-IRV Carmen
Ranked Robin (RCV-RR) Carmen
Approval Andre
Range / Score Carmen
Condorcet Carmen

Flags: none

Source election: method_comparisons/_main/cases/count_simplicity_star_vs_irv.yaml · STAR tabulated mirror: count_simplicity_star_vs_irv_tabulated.txt

5 candidates, 40 ballots.

The ballots

Each row is a group of identical score ballots (0 = no support, 5 = max).

Count Andre Blake Carmen Dana Evan
10 4 3 5 2 1
9 5 3 4 2 1
8 3 5 4 2 1
7 3 2 4 5 1
6 3 2 4 1 5

STAR result (official)

Scoring round (sum of scores): Carmen 170, Andre 148, Blake 123, Dana 95, Evan 64

Finalists (top two): Carmen and Andre

Automatic runoff: Carmen 31 vs Andre 9

STAR winner: Carmen

Full LH STAR engine report:

--- Runoff (Preference) Matrix ---
Head-to-head / pairwise comparison
Legend: For - Equal Support - Against
        * indicates Top 2 Finalist
                 |   * Andre    |  * Carmen   |
-----------------------------------------------
       * Andre > |     ---      | 9 -  0 - 31 |
      * Carmen > | 31 -  0 -  9 |    ---      |

[Divergence from STAR]
  STAR     = Carmen
  Approval = Andre   (differs from STAR)

--- STAR Voting Method (single winner) ---
 Tabulating 40 ballots.
Count × Andre,Blake,Carmen,Dana,Evan
   10 ×     4,    3,     5,   2,   1
    9 ×     5,    3,     4,   2,   1
    8 ×     3,    5,     4,   2,   1
    7 ×     3,    2,     4,   5,   1
    6 ×     3,    2,     4,   1,   5

[Score Distribution] (how many ballots gave each star rating)
                   Score
Candidate   5   4   3   2   1   0  | Total   Avg
Andre       9  10  21   0   0   0  |   148   3.7
Blake       8   0  19  13   0   0  |   123   3.1
Carmen     10  30   0   0   0   0  |   170   4.3
Dana        7   0   0  27   6   0  |    95   2.4
Evan        6   0   0   0  34   0  |    64   1.6

Scoring Round
 The two highest-scoring candidates advance to the next round.
   Carmen        -- 170 -- First place
   Andre         -- 148 -- Second place
   Blake         -- 123
   Dana          --  95
   Evan          --  64
 Carmen and Andre advance.

Automatic Runoff Round
 The candidate preferred in the most head-to-head matchups wins.
   Carmen        -- 31 -- First place
   Andre         --  9
   Equal Support --  0
 Carmen wins.
   Voters with a preference: 40 of 40 (no Equal Support).
   Carmen 31 (78%) vs Andre 9 (22%); majority = 21.

Winner — STAR Voting Method (single winner)
 Carmen

RCV-IRV — round by round

--- RCV / Instant-Runoff Voting (single winner) ---
 Tabulating 40 ballots (converted from score ballots; 0 = unranked, equal scores broken by candidate priority).

Ballots:
   the ranking RCV-IRV reads (0 = unranked, equal scores broken by priority);
   the source score ballot follows in () per column: Andre, Blake, Carmen, Dana, Evan
    10 ×   Carmen > Andre > Blake > Dana > Evan      (4, 3, 5, 2, 1)
     9 ×   Andre > Carmen > Blake > Dana > Evan      (5, 3, 4, 2, 1)
     8 ×   Blake > Carmen > Andre > Dana > Evan      (3, 5, 4, 2, 1)
     7 ×   Dana > Carmen > Andre > Blake > Evan      (3, 2, 4, 5, 1)
     6 ×   Evan > Carmen > Andre > Blake > Dana      (3, 2, 4, 1, 5)

ROUND 1
Candidate      Votes  Status
-----------  -------  --------
Carmen            10  Hopeful
Andre              9  Hopeful
Blake              8  Hopeful
Dana               7  Hopeful
Evan               6  Rejected

ROUND 2
Candidate      Votes  Status
-----------  -------  --------
Carmen            16  Hopeful
Andre              9  Hopeful
Blake              8  Hopeful
Dana               7  Rejected
Evan               0  Rejected

FINAL RESULT
Candidate      Votes  Status
-----------  -------  --------
Carmen            23  Elected
Andre              9  Rejected
Blake              8  Rejected
Dana               0  Rejected
Evan               0  Rejected


Winner(s) — RCV / Instant-Runoff Voting (single winner)
  Carmen

--- Smith Set (the generalized Condorcet winner) ---
The smallest group whose every member beats every candidate outside it —
the honest answer to "who is even in contention?".
   Smith set (1 of 5): Carmen
   Outside (4):        Andre, Blake, Dana, Evan
   One member ⇒ Carmen is the Condorcet winner, beating every rival head-to-head.
   RCV-IRV winner Carmen is INSIDE the Smith set. ✓
      Not guaranteed — RCV-IRV is not Smith-efficient — but it holds here.
   More: 07_Concepts/topics/smith_set.md

NOTE: a generated cross-method view of the STAR ballots, for comparison only — not the official STAR result.

Ranked Robin (RCV-RR) — every pair, head-to-head

--- Ranked Robin (RCV-RR / Copeland) Method (single winner) ---
 Tabulating 40 ballots (score ballots).

Ballots:
   the ranking Ranked Robin reads ("=" = tied); source scores follow in () per column: Andre, Blake, Carmen, Dana, Evan
    10 × Carmen > Andre > Blake > Dana > Evan      (4, 3, 5, 2, 1)
     9 × Andre > Carmen > Blake > Dana > Evan      (5, 3, 4, 2, 1)
     8 × Blake > Carmen > Andre > Dana > Evan      (3, 5, 4, 2, 1)
     7 × Dana > Carmen > Andre > Blake > Evan      (3, 2, 4, 5, 1)
     6 × Evan > Carmen > Andre > Blake > Dana      (3, 2, 4, 1, 5)

Round-Robin — every pair, head-to-head (For – Against):
   Andre   beats Blake    32 –  8
   Carmen  beats Andre    31 –  9
   Andre   beats Dana     33 –  7
   Andre   beats Evan     34 –  6
   Carmen  beats Blake    32 –  8
   Blake   beats Dana     33 –  7
   Blake   beats Evan     34 –  6
   Carmen  beats Dana     33 –  7
   Carmen  beats Evan     34 –  6
   Dana    beats Evan     34 –  6

--- Pairwise (Round-Robin) Matrix ---
Head-to-head / pairwise comparison — the Ranked Robin tally
Legend: For - Equal Support - Against   (row vs column)
           |    Andre     |   Blake     |   Carmen    |    Dana     |    Evan     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Andre > |     ---      |32 -  0 -  8 | 9 -  0 - 31 |33 -  0 -  7 |34 -  0 -  6 |
   Blake > |  8 -  0 - 32 |    ---      | 8 -  0 - 32 |33 -  0 -  7 |34 -  0 -  6 |
  Carmen > | 31 -  0 -  9 |32 -  0 -  8 |    ---      |33 -  0 -  7 |34 -  0 -  6 |
    Dana > |  7 -  0 - 33 | 7 -  0 - 33 | 7 -  0 - 33 |    ---      |34 -  0 -  6 |
    Evan > |  6 -  0 - 34 | 6 -  0 - 34 | 6 -  0 - 34 | 6 -  0 - 34 |    ---      |

Win–loss record — Copeland score = wins + ½·ties (highest score wins; ties broken by total margin, then lot order):
    #  Candidate  W–L–T  Copeland  Margin  Beats
    1  Carmen     4–0–0         4    +100  Andre, Blake, Dana, Evan
    2  Andre      3–1–0         3     +56  Blake, Dana, Evan
    3  Blake      2–2–0         2      +6  Dana, Evan
    4  Dana       1–3–0         1     -50  Evan
    5  Evan       0–4–0         0    -112  —

Winner — Ranked Robin (RCV-RR): Carmen
   beats every opponent head-to-head — the Condorcet winner.

--- Smith Set (the generalized Condorcet winner) ---
The smallest group whose every member beats every candidate outside it —
the honest answer to "who is even in contention?".
   Smith set (1 of 5): Carmen
   Outside (4):        Andre, Blake, Dana, Evan
   One member ⇒ Carmen is the Condorcet winner, beating every rival head-to-head.
   Ranked Robin (RCV-RR) winner Carmen is INSIDE the Smith set. ✓
      Guaranteed: Ranked Robin (Copeland) is Smith-efficient — every member of
      the set outscores every outsider, so the top of the win–loss table is
      always inside the set, however the tie among them is then broken.
   More: 07_Concepts/topics/smith_set.md