EXPLANATIONS OF
SAMPLE ELECTION SYSTEM MODELS

USED IN THE ELECTION SIMULATOR

THE SETUP AND SAMPLE ELECTION BUTTONS

ELECTION SETUP

1. RESET TO BLANK

   Clears the election grid of any previous election data so a new election model can be entered or loaded.

2. NEW RANDOM CASE

   Election data generated in a totally random way, just to see what happens. There are two settings that adjust how this is done:

   • HEURISTIC RANDOM

     Makes the random values behave more like a liberal-vs-conservative system when checked.

   • SMALLER RANDOM

     Limits the selections to 5 candidates and 7 factions when checked.

THE EIGHT

1. 2016 REPUBLICANS

   This uses actual data taken from polls to attempt to simulate how people voted in the 2016 Republican primaries, and showing how defective election systems slant the vote.

2. THREE STOOGE EX.

   This uses the model found in the web page OUR THREE STOOGE ELECTIONS. This page shows how 4 different ranking systems can elect 4 different candidates from the same votes the voters cast.

   Notice that each candidate column has at least one win.

3. 2000 FLORIDA EL.

   Simulation of the 2000 presidential election in Florida.

4. THE WACKY CASE

   I did everything I could to make a mess of most election systems:

   • Tie votes
   • Coin flipping runoff choices
   • Circular voter behavior
5. ONLY 2 CANDIDATES

   Shows how most systems are fair when only two candidates run.

6. THE PEROT EFFECT

   How a minor third party candidate can change the outcome of an election without winning when an unfair election systems are used.

7. 2016 NO PRIMARY

   Can we actually have elections without primary voting? Look at the various systems (especially the Independent Voting System).

8. THIRD PARTY WINS

   A third party can win if a fair election system is used.

EQUAL SIZED FACTIONS TO SHOW BIAS

These show the biases in election systems when equal sized factions have differing numbers of candidates. The fair outcome in each case is a tie among all candidates.

1. 2 FACT, 1-2 CAND

   2 Factions: One faction has 1 candidate, and the other has 2 candidates.

2. 2 FACT, 1-3 CAND

   2 Factions: One faction has 1 candidate, and the other has 3 candidates.

3. 3 FACT, 1-2-2 CAND

   3 Factions: One faction has 1 candidate, one has 2 candidates, and the other has 2 candidates.

4. 3 FACT, 1-2-3 CAND

   3 Factions: One faction has 1 candidate, one has 2 candidates, and the other has 3 candidates.

THE VOTING CONTROL BUTTONS

1. TEST

   The TEST button tests and corrects the values in the electorate table so all of the values are in the proper ranges for the election to take place:

   • Voter preferences are constrained to be between -1.0 and 1.0.
   • The candidate running value must be 1 or 0.
   • Zeros in the electorate table are given gray backgrounds.

   This also provides values to cells that have non-numeric entries.

2. RESET TO DEFAULT PARAMETERS

   Sets 5 settings to the default values the Election Simulator opens with. These are parameters used to simulate approval voting, independent voting, and when to indicate a recount could occur.

3. TEST PARAMETERS

   Tests and corrects the parameter values table so all of the values are in the proper ranges for the election to take place. This also provides values to entries that have non-numeric entries.

4. VOTE

   VOTE actually runs the election simulation. It tests the values before it runs the election. It is placed so the results can be seen while the button is on the screen.

5. RAN-VOTE

   RAN-VOTE has the effect of pushing the NEW RANDOM CASE button followed by the VOTE button. It is placed so the results can be seen while the button is on the screen.

RESULTS, PERCENTAGE, AND STATISTICS

1. VOTE SYSTEM

   This shows which voting system is used for each row in the table.

   • A green background means the values are the actual numbers of votes cast.
   • A cyan background indicates a score calculated by the voting system from the votes cast is displayed. This score is used to find the winner.

   Look here for more on the Election Systems.

2. INDICATORS

   Indicators allow you to see the electorate size.

   • MAJORITY is the number of votes needed for a majority.
   • TOTAL VOTERS is the number of people who voted.
   • SIZE is the metric prefix multiplier (M, K, or none).

3. SCORE

   Scores are measures of voter satisfaction for the outcomes of each election type.

   • Two choices of measure are available (selected in the STATISTICS table):
     1. Happy-Sad - The number of people who like the outcome, minus the number of people who don't.
     2. Linear Accuracy - A linear sum of the preferences for the winner of the various factions.
   • If an election system produces no winner, the score indicates "no win".

4. SCORE COLORS

   These are indicators of performance:

   • Green - The highest score, if over 50% approval of voters
   • Orange - A case with no winner
   • Red - Any score less than 50% approval of voters
   • Purple - The highest score, if under 50% approval of voters
5. PERCENTAGES

   Properties of the percentages

   • When one vote from each voter counts, percentages add to 100%.
   • When voters vote on many choices, percentages can exceed 100%.
   • Borda Count multiplies votes by ranks, greatly exceeding 100%.
   • Negative percentages indicate votes against that choice.
   • Ignore Condorcet - It does not have a percentage of the vote.
   • Independent Voting percentage is the margin, not the total.
6. HISTOGRAM

   The histogram shows the distribution of how much voters like or dislike the winning candidate.

   • No values are shown when the election system produces no winner.
   • The values for the Happy-Sad values are taken from the histogram.
7. HAPPY-SAD

   The histogram is used to produce the values for Sad and Happy.

   • SAD is the sum of the voters in the three negative bins of the histogram.
   • HAPPY is the sum of the voters in the three positive bins of the histogram.
   • The center bin is not used in these calculations.

8. MEAN AND SCORE SELECTION

   The checkbox above MEAN selects the type of mean and score.

   • Checking the checkbox selects the HAPPY-SAD measure (default).
   • Unchecking the checkbox selects the LINEAR ACCURACY measure.
   • The MEAN is a zero-centered scale from -1.0 to 1.0 of voter approval of the winner.
   • The SCORE is a 50%-centered scale from 0% to 100% derived from the mean.
   • After selecting the measure, click the VOTE button to update the means and scores

THE ANALYSIS PANEL

1. The BUTTONS

   The following are the meanings of the buttons:

   • Reset buttons clear the tables
     1. RESET ALL - Resets the entire page.
     2. RESET ANALYSIS resets just the analysis sums, counters, and averages.
   • The 8 case buttons make cases, but don't vote or add to analysis (see above):
     1. 2016 REPUBLICANS
     2. THREE STOOGE EX.
     3. 2000 FLORIDA EL.
     4. THE WACKY CASE
     5. ONLY 2 CANDIDATES
     6. THE PEROT EFFECT
     7. 2016 NO PRIMARY
     8. THIRD PARTY WINS
   • Other buttons make cases, but don't vote or add to analysis:
     1. SINGLE CANDIDATE - What happens when a single candidate is not well liked.
     2. NEW RANDOM CASE - Same as above. Uses the checkboxes.
   • This button votes a case, but doesn't create one or add to analysis:
     1. VOTE - runs the election. Same as the VOTE button above.
   • This button creates and votes a case, but doesn't add to analysis:
     1. RAN-VOTE - Make random case and vote it.
   • This button adds a case to analysis, but does not create or vote a case:
     1. ADD THIS CASE
   • These buttons create and vote cases and add them to analysis:
     1. ADD THE 8 CASES
     2. ADD RANDOM CASE
     3. TEN RANDOM CASES - does 10 consecutive random cases.
2. The COLUMNS

   The meanings of the columns are:

   • EXAMPLE EIGHT:

     The average Linear Accuracy scores for all 8 case buttons.

   • LINEAR ACCURACY:

     Uses an average of the faction size times the faction belief.

     Tends to favor the Range 9 system.

   • HAPPY−SAD (happy minus sad):

     Subtracts the number of unhappy voters from the number of happy voters.

     More fair than any other scoring.

   • VOTER UTILITY INDEX

     A scale depending on best case B, This case U, and random case average R:

     The index = (U - R)/(B - R)

     Almost always gives 100% to RANGE 9 voting.

     This biased score is provided only for information. It is not a useful measure.

   • TRIES ENTERED

     The number of election tries entered into the analysis.

     Does not count cases where no winner occurs.

   • NOW

     The score of the item just added to the analysis

     Same as the score in the RESULTS table.

   • BEFORE

     The analysis score before the new item was added.

   • TOTAL

     The current score in the analysis.

   • RANK

     Shows the rank of the current score in the Total column.

     Highest rank is 9. Lowest rank is 0.

THE SCRATCHPAD AREA

1. CALCULATED CANDIDATE RANKING TABLE

   This shows how the various factions rank the candidates.

   • The highest rank is the largest number. The lowest rank is 1.
   • This is used to calculate the ranking system scores.
2. INSTANT RUNOFF TABLE

   This shows successive stages in the Instant Runoff and Iowa Caucus elections.

   • Instant Runoff keeps deleting candidates until someone wins.
   • Iowa Caucus must stop after deleting the second candidate.
   • Both are not linear. Adding votes to a candidate can lower his chances of winning.
3. CONDORCET TABLE

   This contains the Condorcet pairs used to count the election.

   • The winning candidate wins the most pairs.
   • If a circular preference occurs, there is no winner.
4. INDEPENDENT VOTING TABLE

   This table shows the YES votes, the NO votes, and the YES-NO sums.

5. VOTER UTILITY INDEX   (rangevoting.org)

   This shows the calculation of the Voter Utility Index (VUI).

   • The VUI is almost always 100% for the RANGE 9 voting system. Try it.
   • This is a biased index, because it appears to have been created to tout the RANGE 9 system.
   • For this reason, the VUI is not available for individual elections for this simulator.