User:RobLa/runoff

(User:RobLa 2018-12-01) - Working version of a proposal I'm about to make on the election-methods mailing list.

1.  Create a playoff bracket with room for all candidates, using rules similar to the ones the NCAA uses for March Madness:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_Madness>

....or maybe on the ones Wimbledon uses:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimbledon_championship>

In short, use a single-elimination tournament:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-elimination_tournament>

2.  Seed the candidates in the tournament such that all members of the Smith set are guaranteed to advance to the final rounds.  I'm guessing that the Copeland score could be used:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copeland_method>

3. Calculate the winner of each contest using the standard ways of inferring pairwise matchup results based on ranked/rated ballots

These steps may seem like a lot of theatrical extras (especially in contests where there is a single Condorcet winner) but I think this framework could provide a useful mental model for people whose eyes glaze over when try to describe some of the mathematical vulnerabilities of systems like Instant Runoff.