SODA voting (Simple Optionally-Delegated Approval): Difference between revisions

Rationale for breaking equal-ranked ties using approvals in step 3.b)i.: One of the toughest situations for any voting system is the "Chicken Dilemma" between two near-clones. Say there are 60% "Blue" voters and 40% "Orange" voters; but the Blue voters are split between two candidates, say 35% for Navy and 25% for Sky. Any good voting system will allow one of the Blue candidates to win, if all the Blue voters support both of their candidates. But under many systems, there is a temptation for the Sky voters not to support Navy, so as to make sure that Sky, rather than Navy, is the winner. But if the Navy voters respond in kind, then Orange could defeat them both.

 

 

This is called the "Chicken Dilemma" because it resembles a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_(game) game of chicken], in that both blue factions benefit from being the only one to deny support, but both lose if both deny support. In fact, since no single blue voter can reliably know exactly how other voters in the two blue factions will behave, it resembles a blindfolded game of chicken.