Ted Stern wrote (8 Nov 2012): "Hi Chris,
You discuss Winning Votes vs. Margins below. What do you think about using the Cardinal-Weighted Pairwise array in conjunction with the traditional Condorcet array? In other words, either WV or Margins is used to decide whether there is a defeat, but the CWP array is used to determine the defeat strength, in either Ranked Pairs or Schulze. To recap for those not familiar with the technique (due to James Green-Armytage in 2004), a ratings ballot is used: give a score of a_i to candidate i. Ranks are inferred: candidate i receives one Condorcet vote over candidate j if a_i > a_j. Whenever that Condorcet vote is recorded into the standard A_ij array, you also tally the difference (a_i - a_j) into the corresponding CWP_ij location." Ted, Actually I talked more about Losing Votes than Winning Votes. I can't remember all the reasons I don't like CWP, but it is far too complicated with not enough "bang for buck". I prefer Smith//Approval (ranking), or a method that Forest and I discussed a while ago. It is a bit better (and more elegant) than Smith//Approval, and nearly always gives the same winner. Chris Benham
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