Alex,
I hope I understood what you meant. When you say that the three candidates each have "well-defined stances on a variety of issues," I believe you're only saying that to make it clear that the voters are rational in holding cyclic preferences.
I have two thoughts. For a candidate to become the CW, he needs to be able to move on the spectrum. But if it's not possible for the three candidates to move, because there are only a few, well-defined positions that can be taken on the issue(s), then it's hopeless. A candidate needs to have some other currency to offer. He needs another dimension on the spectrum to allow him to move towards the voter median.
I have trouble making sense of this paragraph. Presumably there was a campaign period before the election, that could have used polling to polish positions. Likewise, if there is a runoff, there is a similar campaign period before this election.
However, a candidate changing positions during the election itself makes no sense - and, if one can, the others should have the same right. This has simply extended the campaign period.
Thus, when you finally get to the true election a cycle or other form of tie or near tie has to be possible and the response has to be based on that result, rather than pretending you can start over.
See the above.
Suppose the only issue is what sort of film to watch: drama, comedy, or documentary. A candidate stands for each. None of them can become the CW unless they can also make an issue of what to eat afterwards, let's say, or who gets to sit next to whom, or who will not be invited next time if they don't submit.
My other thought is to use Approval: Make every voter decide, secretly, with the results revealed simultaneously, whether they insist on their favorite, or insist against their least favorite.
On a day when Condorcet managed a cycle, Approval might not, increasing the wish for Approval. BUT, make Approval the standard and Condorcet could start looking better.
Again, introducing another issue would be simply extending the campaign period.
But if there really are only three voters, this won't work either. Roll dice, or introduce another issue (the reason we don't see many cyclic ties in legislatures).
Dice are one true possibility.
Kevin Venzke [EMAIL PROTECTED]
-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] people.clarityconnect.com/webpages3/davek Dave Ketchum 108 Halstead Ave, Owego, NY 13827-1708 607-687-5026 Do to no one what you would not want done to you. If you want peace, work for justice.
---- Election-methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
