Summability criterion: Difference between revisions
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(Created a formal-ish expression of the "summability criterion" that is hopefully understandable to typical voters (and is hopefully accurate)) |
(Removed incorrect definition, and wrote a first stab at a very high level summary. There may be some redundancy still.) |
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{{wikipedia|Summability criterion}} |
{{wikipedia|Summability criterion}} |
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The '''summability criterion''' (sometimes referred to as "'''precinct summability'''" or "'''batch summability'''"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Q: Are STAR Voting ballots "summable," or do they require centralized tabulation? |url=https://www.starvoting.org/summable |access-date=2022-12-25 |website=STAR Voting |language=en}}</ref>) is a criterion about the vote-counting process of [[Electoral system|electoral systems]]. |
The '''summability criterion''' (sometimes referred to as "'''precinct summability'''" or "'''batch summability'''"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Q: Are STAR Voting ballots "summable," or do they require centralized tabulation? |url=https://www.starvoting.org/summable |access-date=2022-12-25 |website=STAR Voting |language=en}}</ref>) is a criterion about the vote-counting process of [[Electoral system|electoral systems]]. Summability concerns whether a method can be counted in precincts instead of having to be counted at a central location. |
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Informally, a method is summable if precinct ballots can be reduced to a small summary, and that the center can combine these small summaries to determine the outcome of the election as a whole. This both makes it easier to verify election results and reduces the amount of information that has to be transmitted to a centralized counting location. |
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*Say that candidates "A", "B", and "C" run against each other in an arbitrary election using single-winner electoral system "S" |
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*Say that candidate "A" wins in batch "X" (or precinct "X") when ballots are tabulated using single-winner electoral system "S" |
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*Say that candidate "A" wins in batch "Y" (or precinct "Y") when ballots are tabulated using single-winner electoral system "S" |
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*Therefore, candidate "A" must win when batches "X" and "Y" of ballots are tabulated using single-winner electoral system "S" for "S" to be "batch summable" (and thus, pass the "summability criterion") |
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Unlike most other voting system criteria, it does not relate to the end result, only to the process. |
Unlike most other voting system criteria, it does not relate to the end result, only to the process. |
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