Here's an idea that combines Kevin's above mean idea with the generalised Bucklin idea:
The voters mark CR ballots. The levels are collapsed one at a time, from top to bottom until either the next to bottom level is reached or a level is reached at which one or more candidates have at least fifty percent approval. When this level L is reached, the set S of candidates with fifty percent or more approval is formed. [This set might be empty if L is l above the bottom 0.] For each ballot B, let r1, r2, etc. be the ratings of the members of set S on ballot B. [If two or more members of S have the same rating, some of these numbers will be repeated.] Set the approval cutoff for ballot B at the value (r1 + r2 + ... + (L-.5))/k where k is one more than the cardinality of S. Forest ---- Election-methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
