Hello to the list, I'm a software engineer, currently developing an online electoral system. I was in another discussion (link at bottom) and a subscriber recommended this list to me. I have a few questions, if anyone is able to help.
A key component of the electoral system (to explain) is what I call a "delegate cascade" voting mechanism. It is intended for use in continuous elections (open to recasting). The overall aim is to support consensus building. In this mechanism: ...a 'delegate' is a participant who both receives votes, like a candidate, and casts a vote of her own, like a voter. But when a delegate casts her vote, it carries with it those received. And so on... Passing from delegate to delegate, the votes flow together and gather in volume - they cascade - like raindrops down the branches of a tree. New voters are not restricted in their choices, but may vote for anyone, their unsolicited votes serving to nominate new candidates and to recruit new participants into the election. http://zelea.com/project/votorola/d/outline.xht I can only cite 3 references for the mechanism (Pivato, Rodriguez et al., and myself) all from 2007. Does anyone know of an earlier source? Is anyone else working with this mechanism? Have there been discussions along similar lines? Please bring me up to date, -- Michael Allan Toronto, 647-436-4521 http://zelea.com/ P.S. The other discussion thread (a broader topic) is: Read any useful research lately, unanswered research questions? http://groups.dowire.org/r/topic/6QthnRysw5lJmRGqnPAy5y ---- Election-Methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info