3-2-1 voting
In 3-2-1 voting, voters may rate each candidate “Good”, “Acceptable”, or “Rejected”. It has three steps:
- Find 3 Semifinalists: the candidates with the most “good” ratings. (If this is a partisan election, no two semifinalists may come from the same party).
- Find 2 Finalists: the semifinalists with the fewest rejections.
- Find 1 winner: the finalist who is rated above the other on more ballots.
Examples
Imagine an election for a high school mascot, in which the options are “Bulldogs”, “Lions”, “Tigers”, or “Knights”, with the following votes:
| Faction size | "Good" candidates | "Acceptable" candidates | "Bad" candidates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | Bulldogs, Knights | Lions, Tigers | |
| 1 | Bulldogs | Knights, Lions, Tigers | |
| 35 | Tigers | Lions | Bulldogs, Knights |
| 20 | Lions | Tigers | Bulldogs, Knights |
| 5 | Knights, Lions | Bulldogs | Tigers |
The votes above lead to the following outcome:
| Candidate | "Good" ratings | "Acceptable" ratings | "Bad" ratings | 2-way score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 25 | 35 | 40 | |
| Tigers | 35 | 20 | 45 | 55 |
| Knights | 44 | 0 | 56 | |
| Bulldogs | 40 | 5 | 55 | 45 |
The semifinalists are Tigers, Knights, and Bulldogs. The finalists are Tigers and Bulldogs. The winner is Tigers.