Equally Weighted Vote: Difference between revisions
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An Equally Weighted Vote is the concept that every vote should carry equal power or weight. In 1964, [https://www.oyez.org/cases/1963/22 Wesberry v. Sanders]
Votes can be unequally weighted at a number of different stages in the election process. First, a vote can be unequal due to the voting method itself. Any voting method which allows [[Vote-splitting|Vote Splitting]] ensures that voters do not have an equally weighted vote in elections which have more than two candidates. Second, votes for representatives to a larger geographical area who are representing a district within that area can be unequally weighted due to district lines which may bias an election in favor of one faction or another. When district lines are intentionally drawn in order to marginalize specific factions, (reducing the weight of those voters relative to others) it's known as [[Gerrymandering]].
The [[Electoral College]] and other mechanisms which use representatives to determine elections rather than directly using the votes cast also violate the Equally Weighted Vote
The 1964, [https://www.starvoting.us/equal_vote Wesberry v. Sanders]case cited above addressed Gerrymandering. In the case of district lines it's impossible to ensure that elections will not favor one faction or the other over time as populations grow and change, but it is "practicable" to prevent and mitigate this phenomena. However in the case of vote splitting and the Electoral Collage achieving a perfectly Equally Weighted Vote is fully possible.
===
Otherwise known as the
=== The Test of Balance ===
The
=== Voting methods which ensure an Equally Weighted Vote ===
Voting Methods which ensure an Equally Weighted Vote with any number of candidates include Approval Voting, Score Voting, STAR Voting, as well as a number of others. In general Cardinal Voting methods ensure an Equally Weighted Vote for each voter. Many Condorcet methods (most that can be calculated only with the [[Pairwise counting|pairwise counting]] matrix, most Condorcet-cardinal hybrids, etc.) also pass the criterion.
Choose One Plurality Voting does not satisfy the Equal Vote Criterion. Instant Runoff Voting (often referred to as Ranked Choice Voting) does not satisfy the
=== '''Vote unitarity''' ===
One application of the Equally Weighted Vote
There is an important nuance to this with regards to [[Surplus Handling]]; if, say, every voter gives one of the winners a
In summary, there is a proportional relationship between how much support the voters give to the winners, the cost to elect a winner, and the amount of influence that is removed from the voters, to ensure that every voter has a chance to fairly elect someone they prefer. The prominent [[Single transferable vote|Single Transferable Vote]], and [[Reweighted Range Voting]] methods fail vote unitarity.
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