Spoiler effect: Difference between revisions

The '''spoiler effect''' is the effect of vote splitting between candidates or ballot questions{{#tag:ref|Examples are the [[First Past the Post electoral system|first past the post electoral system]] and in the [[single transferable vote]] or similar systems withthat achooses what candidate to elect based on first-preference votes [[winning percentage]].}} who often have similar ideologies. One '''spoiler candidate'''{{'s}} presence in the election draws votes from a major candidate with similar politics, thereby causing a strong opponent of both or several to win.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9bzmTImCLfgC|title=Hiring and Firing Public Officials: Rethinking the Purpose of Elections|last=Buchler|first=Justin|date=2011-04-20|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=9780199759965|location=|pages=|language=en|quote=a spoiler effect occurs when entry by a third-party candidate causes party A to defeat party B even though Party B would have won in a two-candidate race.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-bCJDAAAQBAJ|title=Why Don't Americans Vote? Causes and Consequences: Causes and Consequences|last=King|first=Bridgett A.|last2=Hale|first2=Kathleen|date=2016-07-11|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781440841163|location=|pages=|language=en|quote=Those votes that are cast for minor party candidates are perceived as taking away pivotal votes from major party candidates. ... This phenomenon is known as the 'spoiler effect'.}}</ref><ref name="Borgers">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_XMHD4shnQC|title=Mathematics of Social Choice: Voting, Compensation, and Division|last=Borgers|first=Christoph|date=2010-01-01|publisher=SIAM|isbn=9780898716955|location=|pages=|language=en|quote=Candidates C and D spoiled the election for B ... With them in the running, A won, whereas without them in the running, B would have won. ... Instant runoff voting ... does ''not'' do away with the spoiler problem entirely, although it ... makes it less likely}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KrckCwAAQBAJ|title=Handbook of Social Choice and Voting|last=Heckelman|first=Jac C.|last2=Miller|first2=Nicholas R.|date=2015-12-18|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=9781783470730|location=|pages=|language=en|quote=A spoiler effect occurs when a single party or a candidate entering an election changes the outcome to favor a different candidate.}}</ref> The minor candidate causing this effect is referred to as a ''spoiler''.{{#tag:ref|A term designed to appeal to a wider section of the public as a result of the widespread, often national support of [[political party|political parties]].}} However, short of any [[electoral fraud]], this presents no grounds for a legal challenge.