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Hamlin & Hua §4.1 — the same marks read pairwise: 60 of 100 voters express no preference

Bucket — IRV_DIFFERS_ARTIFACT: RCV-IRV differs — tie-break artifact

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

What happens

On these ballots RCV-IRV reports A rather than STAR's B, but this is an artifact of score→rank conversion, not a robust method difference: 100 of 100 ballots have tied non-zero scores, so their ranks are set by an arbitrary candidate-priority order; the RCV-IRV winner flips when that priority order is reversed. Ranked Robin and the Condorcet (pairwise) winner both agree with STAR (B). Do not use this case to criticize RCV-IRV — the disagreement is a coin-flip created by equal scores and would vanish under a different (equally arbitrary) tie-break.

Winners by method

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

Flags: 100 tied-score ballot(s); IRV winner flips under reversed priority (fragile tie); RR conversion-sensitive (weak=B, strict=A)

Source election: method_comparisons/approval_majority_criterion/cases/hh41_03_marks_read_pairwise.yaml · STAR tabulated mirror: hh41_03_marks_read_pairwise_tabulated.txt

3 candidates, 100 ballots.

The ballots

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

Count A B C
60 5 5 0
40 0 5 5

STAR result (official)

Scoring round (sum of scores): B 500, A 300, C 200

Finalists (top two): B and A

Automatic runoff: B 40 vs A 0 (60 equal/no-preference)

STAR winner: B

Full LH STAR engine report:

--- Runoff (Preference) Matrix ---
Head-to-head / pairwise comparison
Legend: For - Equal Support - Against
        * indicates Top 2 Finalist
                 |     * A      |    * B      |
-----------------------------------------------
           * A > |     ---      | 0 - 60 - 40 |
           * B > | 40 - 60 -  0 |    ---      |

[Divergence from STAR]
  STAR                   = B
  Choose-One (Plurality) = A   (differs from STAR)
  RCV-IRV                = A   (differs from STAR)
  Note: 100 of 100 ballots (100%) had equal non-zero scores, so their ranks
        were decided by candidate priority order. The RCV-IRV result may be
        an artifact of score-to-rank tie-breaking rather than a deep
        difference.
  Note: Ranked Robin (RCV-RR) agrees with STAR, so RCV-IRV is the lone
        outlier — the classic center-squeeze signature.

--- STAR Voting Method (single winner) ---
 Tabulating 100 ballots.
Count × A,B,C
   60 × 5,5,0
   40 × 0,5,5

[Score Distribution] (how many ballots gave each star rating)
                      Score
Candidate    5    4    3    2    1    0  | Total   Avg
A           60    0    0    0    0   40  |   300   3.0
B          100    0    0    0    0    0  |   500   5.0
C           40    0    0    0    0   60  |   200   2.0

Scoring Round
 The two highest-scoring candidates advance to the next round.
   B             -- 500 -- First place
   A             -- 300 -- Second place
   C             -- 200
 B and A advance.

Automatic Runoff Round
 The candidate preferred in the most head-to-head matchups wins.
   B             -- 40 -- First place
   A             --  0
   Equal Support -- 60
 B wins.
   Voters with a preference: 40 of 100 (60 Equal Support).
   B 40 (100%) vs A 0 (0%); majority = 21.

Winner — STAR Voting Method (single winner)
 B

RCV-IRV — round by round

⚠️ This election has a fragile IRV tie (equal scores force an arbitrary tie-break). The round table below is only one realization; a different tie-break can change the winner. See the flag above.

--- RCV / Instant-Runoff Voting (single winner) ---
 Tabulating 100 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: A, B, C
    60 ×   A > B      (5, 5, 0)
    40 ×   B > C      (0, 5, 5)

FINAL RESULT
Candidate      Votes  Status
-----------  -------  --------
A                 60  Elected
B                 40  Rejected
C                  0  Rejected


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

--- 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 3): B
   Outside (2):        A, C
   One member ⇒ B is the Condorcet winner, beating every rival head-to-head.
   RCV-IRV winner A is OUTSIDE the Smith set. ✗
      Every member of the set (B) beats A head-to-head, yet
      RCV-IRV elected A anyway. RCV-IRV is not Smith-efficient (nor
      Condorcet-efficient) — this is the shape a center squeeze leaves behind.
   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 100 ballots (score ballots).

Ballots:
   the ranking Ranked Robin reads ("=" = tied); source scores follow in () per column: A, B, C
    60 × A=B > C      (5, 5, 0)
    40 × B=C > A      (0, 5, 5)

Round-Robin — every pair, head-to-head (For – Against):
   B  beats A   40 –  0
   A  beats C   60 – 40
   B  beats C   60 –  0

--- Pairwise (Round-Robin) Matrix ---
Head-to-head / pairwise comparison — the Ranked Robin tally
Legend: For - Equal Support - Against   (row vs column)
      |      A       |     B       |     C       |
--------------------------------------------------
  A > |     ---      | 0 - 60 - 40 |60 -  0 - 40 |
  B > | 40 - 60 -  0 |    ---      |60 - 40 -  0 |
  C > | 40 -  0 - 60 | 0 - 40 - 60 |    ---      |

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  B          2–0–0         2    +100  A, C
    2  A          1–1–0         1     -20  C
    3  C          0–2–0         0     -80  —

Winner — Ranked Robin (RCV-RR): B
   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 3): B
   Outside (2):        A, C
   One member ⇒ B is the Condorcet winner, beating every rival head-to-head.
   Ranked Robin (RCV-RR) winner B 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