[I've cc:ed this to Mike O because he may not be currently subscribed.] Mike has written about 2-ballot methods suitable in certain circumstances. Perhaps he's already posted a recommendation for the following scenario, which is of immediate practical interest for another group I'm involved in. The group is planning to hold an at-large vote to pick a new name for itself. So far, 52 names have been suggested. Because the software to ease preference voting & tallying hasn't yet been implemented, there will be a substantial labor overhead in processing the voting. So it's probably desirable to eliminate as many choices as possible without compromising too much on the integrity of the results. Another consideration is the precedent the voting will set for the group. Choosing the best name doesn't sound very crucial, but there may be more significant votes in the future and it would be nice if the experience gained in the first vote would be applicable later. I think what I'm looking for is a 2-ballot method of the form M///Condorcet, where M eliminates all but a manageable number of candidates. But I won't prejudge this. Anyone have a good recommendation? Thanks in advance, ---Steve (Steve Eppley [EMAIL PROTECTED])
