About the DemoChoice Web Poll

What does DemoChoice do?
DemoChoice uses "Instant Runoff Voting" - a convenient and accurate way to determine a majority winner in a single election.
It improves upon the "most votes wins" method, where if there are more than two candidates, someone can win even though most voters don't like that candidate. It minimizes "spoiler" or "vote-splitting" problems, where voting for your favorite candidate helps your least favorite candidate win.

It improves upon the two-round runoff election, where everyone has to go in and vote twice - often, the inconvenience of the second election results in very low participation. Two-round runoffs can have the same problems as "most votes wins" when there are more than three candidates, but instant runoffs work well for any number of candidates.

How are votes counted?
All ballots are counted toward their highest-ranked remaining candidate. If no candidate has a majority of the counted votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the process repeats.

Which candidate received my vote?
Follow the results link for your poll and look at the final round. At that point, your vote counted toward the remaining candidate who ranked highest on your ballot, or toward "none of these".

What happens if there is a tie?
Ties are not a very significant issue in public elections, because the number of ballots is large and ties are statistically rare. However, in a demonstration poll like this, they can happen frequently. Here, they are broken by comparing votes in successively previous rounds, or by random lot if that fails.

Let's do this in our local, state, and federal governments!
If you are interested in promoting this method of voting, the Center for Voting and Democracy can provide more information and help you find like-minded people.

I still don't get it!
We want to make sure that everyone who uses this site leaves with a comfortable understanding of how it works. Please send your questions using our feedback form.

What do you do with my email address in a private poll?
Your email address will be used to send a confirmation of your vote. In the rare event that your vote is not properly recorded, you may be contacted. Voter address information is not used for any other purpose.

Send us your feedback!
DemoChoice is an ongoing project, and user feedback is an essential part of it. Everybody has a slightly different experience and it helps to hear what parts you found illuminating and what parts you found confusing or cumbersome. Use our feedback form to share your thoughts.

Acknowledgements
Steve Willett created the first web-based instant runoff poll in 2000, as an interface to ChoicePlus Pro. DemoChoice evolved from this into its own project. Steve and the Center for Voting and Democracy have kindly provided web space. Many others have provided helpful advice and encouragement. Further comments would be appreciated.
DemoChoice Web Polls ©2002 Dave Robinson