Comparing Voting Systems for a Normal Distribution of Voters
Comparing Voting Systems for a Normal Distribution of Voters
This Demonstration simulates a single-winner election for one to five candidates using four common voting systems: first-past-the-post (FPTP, AKA plurality voting), instant-runoff voting (IRV, AKA alternative vote, transferable vote or Hare system), Borda count and approval voting. The voting population follows a normal distribution (with adjustable parameters) along a single ideological spectrum, while each candidate's position (which is also adjustable) lies at a specific point on the spectrum. The bell curve can be colored to display either regions where each candidate is the favorite or intervals over which voters approve of each candidate. Below the bell curve shows which candidate would win under each method for the given voter distribution, as well as a colored bar showing which candidate would win if the mean voter (AKA the center of opinion) were centered at each point on the spectrum.