Web: Voting for More Than Just Either-Or

Voting for More Than Just Either-Or
MIT News (03/14/08) Chandler, David

MIT researchers are developing Selectricity, software that could make ranking systems as easy to use as traditional voting systems, creating results that would satisfy a greater portion of the population. Selectricity has been available online as a free service since last fall and is about to switch to an upgraded version with more advanced options. Using Selectricity, anyone can go to the Web site and set up a "Quickvote" in just a few seconds, and users anywhere can access the poll and vote, creating instant results. There is also an ultra-simple version that uses text messaging for voting by cell phones. Although the software is being used for simple tasks such as deciding where to go to dinner or when to hold a meeting, it is sophisticated enough to handle real elections. In February, a beta version of the upgraded software was used by a national student organization to elect their first board of directors, with each of the 16 campus chapters of the Students for Free Culture group receiving an equal vote to select five members for their governing board from a field of 13 candidates. In the election, the candidate that received the most first-place votes, also received the most last- or near-last-place votes, meaning in a traditional election the candidate would have won despite being unpopular with the majority of the voters.
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