Hi Kevin, On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:01 AM, Kevin Venzke <[email protected]> wrote: > The 2D Yee diagrams cast voters around a point without any bias in favor > of one dimension or the other, as far as I know. I don't think that is > likely to be realistic. I think a 1D Yee diagram would be more realistic. > Or else have 2D, but the second dimension is much narrower.
Well, I don't see why you couldn't create a Yee diagram that doesn't use a rotationally-symmetric gaussian distribution; or even some kind of double- or triple- humped distributions. Of course interpreting a diagram would probably be a bit harder. > I don't know how to prove that some approach is realistic though. In > real life we tend to see a single dimension for single-winner seats, but > that could be a product of nomination disincentive produced by the > particular method (or political framework) being used. Well, that is true. New Hampshire's legislature is considering a bill that would introduce approval voting state-wide; I do hope it passes, and if it does I can't help but think most voters will continue voting for a single candidate because they won't be aware of the changes, or they'll see it as somehow "cheating" or otherwise view it with suspicion. (Or even irrationally believing that voting for their most preferred candidate in addition to a Republican or Democrat would somehow be a waste of a vote, helping their least preferred choice win, etc.) I suspect that it will take a generation or two before voting patterns really change in New Hampshire. But maybe I'm a little overly cynical and pessimistic; some time ago I do remember seeing two otherwise identical polls in the UK conducted with "vote for one" versus "vote for many" rules, and support for a few of the smaller parties grew quite dramatically. > It seems to me a "government vs. opposition" mindset causes voters to > think in terms of a single dimension. > > I also don't think Yee diagrams based on sincere voting are all that > compelling. I remain rather unconvinced that Yee diagrams are a good argument for Approval or Condorcet, but I sure do think they are a compelling argument against Instant Runoff Voting. Best, Leon ---- Election-Methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
