Regarding California/French Runoff:
Yes, this is the part that makes is difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison with IRV. I agree.
On Jun 1, 2004, at 11:54 AM, Dr. Ernie Prabhakar wrote:
... people participate in general elections than in primaries.
So, I guess I would qualify as saying, assuming voters' down-ticket preferences would remain static from primary to general, and assuming the same number of participants in French runoff (both of which are lousy assumptions), then IRV would be better.
As for the best method to use for a two-round primary, then I would think that some Condorcet variant would be best. In the primary, find the Condorcet winner. Then eliminate the Condorcet winner from all ballots, and find the new Condorcet winner. These two would be in the runoff. In the case of circular ties in either step, you'd have to use one of the many tiebreakers that are discussed here.
If the primary doesn't have ranked ballots and the folks want two rounds, then I think this French Runoff is the best solution. In the chance that ranked ballots are unavailable but Approval ballots are, then Approval would be better for the primary.
Overall, French Runoff is better than plurality. I think the consensus of general ranking is (from worst to best) of seven often discussed methods here is:
1. Plurality 2. French Runoff 3. IRV 4. Tactical Rated 5. Approval 6. Condorcet 7. Non-tactical Rated
Tangent - I personally have a lower opinion of Approval because I think it is hard to sell to voting populations. "Wait, ranking this guy equal could mean he beats my first choice." It puts voters in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between separating their loves-and-compromises from their hates, and separating their loves from their compromises-and-hates. Voters don't like that choice, it feels like a risky catch-22. It's a psychological problem. Using Approval for a French-Runoff primary, however, reduces that psychological flaw. I like that idea a lot.
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