Archive:Ombudsman/Archive 1/Election process

Voting Methods

The Management Council has asked me, as Ombudsman, to investigate voting methods, and in particular to ask the community what are their preferences in terms of the voting method we should use for future elections. The guidance they gave me is as follows:

1. Develop an analysis of the pros and cons of each method discovered in this search. Pros and cons should include not only the technical merits of the method, but also the effect using the method has on the transparency of the determining the results; the difficulty in training non-technical people to use the method and training non-technical people serving on election committees to execute the method's algorithms; and whether the objectives of the method (e.g., eliminating bias against minority blocks of voters) are realistic objectives for the size and composition of the community.
2. Attempt to ascertain how strongly citizens feel about the voting method they support. Would choosing a particular voting method motivate a significant number of citizens to leave the project?
3. After conducting the analysis, provide the Management Council with a recommendation of the voting method we should use with the understanding that the Management Council has the final say in selection.