POL224Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Plurality Voting System, Approval Voting, Hare Quota
Document Summary
Non-dictatorship : outcome representative of the largest number voters. For the moment, we consider voting rules for single outcomes (single-winner votes) in general. Theorem = a statement whose validity can be proven, given that its initial assumptions are true. Lecture page 1 proven, given that its initial assumptions are true. Assume that one of the alternatives is objectively the correct one. Assume that each person"s probability of choosing correctly is above 1/2. Then, the probability of the group making the correct decision by simple majority rule approaches 1 as n becomes large. Challenges belief that large populations can"t make good decisions. Simple majority may be efficient when voters are knowledgeable. Not applicable to votes with more than 2 alternatives. Perhaps counter-intuitively, simple majority rule does not ensure that the outcome is preferred by a majority. No matter who wins, a majority would prefer a different outcome.
