Understanding Our Voting Systems

Uses a Sequential Instant Runoff (IRV) system to ensure every winner has broad support.

The Round-by-Round Process:

1. Initial Count: The system tallies every voter's #1 preference.
2. Majority Check: If a candidate has more than 50% of the active votes, they are elected.
3. Elimination: If no majority exists, the candidate with the fewest votes is removed. Candidates with zero votes are automatically removed first to streamline the count.
4. Redistribution: Ballots belonging to the eliminated candidate are transferred to the voter's next available preference.

Detailed Tie-Break Logic:

If two or more candidates are tied for last place, the system resolves it in three stages:

• Stage 1 (Restricted Audit): The system creates a mini-election using only the tied candidates to see who was ranked lower relative to one another.
• Stage 2 (Absolute Audit): If still tied, the system scans every ballot at each rank level sequentially (starting at 1st choice, then 2nd, then 3rd, etc.). The candidate who has the fewest total votes at the highest possible rank is eliminated. This ensures we exhaust all preference data before moving to a fallback.
• Stage 3 (Stable Fallback): In the rare case of a perfect mathematical tie at all levels, a deterministic rule is applied to ensure a consistent result.

For Multiple Winners:

Once a seat is filled, that winner is removed from all ballots. Their original votes are transferred to the next listed preference, and the entire IRV process begins again from Round 1 to fill the next seat.

Voters assign a numerical value to each candidate (e.g., 0–10), allowing for highly expressive preferences.

The Process:

• Scoring: Assign a score to each option; higher numbers indicate stronger support.
• The Tally: The system calculates the total score for each candidate.
• Winner: The candidate with the highest total score is declared the winner.

Detailed Tie-Break Logic:

If two or more candidates have the same total score, the system performs an individual vote audit:

1. High-Point Priority: The system identifies the highest possible score on the scale and compares how many votes each tied candidate received at that specific level.
2. Step-Down Comparison: If the number of votes at the maximum level is equal, the system proceeds to compare counts for the next highest point level (e.g., if the max is 10, it checks 10s, then 9s, then 8s, and so on).
3. Determination: The first candidate found to have a higher count of votes at a specific point level wins the tie-break.

Voters are given a fixed "budget" of points (e.g., 10 points) to distribute among candidates however they choose.

The Process:

• Point Allocation: Voters can give all their points to one candidate ("bullet voting") or split them (e.g., 5 to one, 3 to another, 2 to a third).
• The Tally: The system sums all points received by each candidate across all ballots.
• Winners: The candidates with the highest total point counts are elected, based on the number of seats available.

Tie-Break Logic:

In the event of a tie for the final seat, the system follows the same individual vote audit as Score Voting:

1. High-Point Priority: The system identifies the maximum points a single voter assigned to a candidate and compares who received more of those high-value "concentrated" votes.
2. Step-Down Comparison: If still tied, the system checks lower point values sequentially until the tie is broken.