Anthony L.

Madrazo

Lesson 2. Voting

Objectives
1. Define voting.
2. Apply different voting techniques in a real – world problems.
Lesson Proper
Two of the most fundamental principles of democracy is the right to vote, and its
value. Voting is part of everyday life. We vote for government representatives, or
representatives that shall represent students’ body in school. We vote for our favorite
movies, food to eat, and where to go. Representative shall be allocated, or apportioned
or fairly divided relative to population (Aufmann, et. al., 2013).
Voting. Right to vote is privilege of people living in a democratic countries. However,
sometimes voters are disappointed and puzzled because the best candidate was not
elected. This is possible through plurality voting system (Aufmann, et. al., 2013).
The Plurality Method of Voting
Each voter votes for one candidate, the candidate with the most votes wins. The
winning candidate does not have does not have a majority of the votes (Aufmann, et.
al., 2013).

Example 1. One hundred people voted for their favorite fast food restaurant using 1
for their favorite and 5 for their least favorite. This type of ranking of
choice is called a preference schedule. Results are shown below. Which
fast food restaurant ranked first? Use plurality method of voting.
Ranking
Chowking 4 2 4 2 5 5
Graceland 5 3 3 1 3 4
Greenwich 1 4 2 3 2 2
Jollibee 2 5 1 5 1 3
McDonalds 3 1 5 4 4 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Solution. Count only the rank 1st votes as shown below.
Ranking
Chowking
Graceland 1
Greenwich 1
Jollibee 1 1
McDonalds 1 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13

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Observations:
 No one voted Chowking to be in the 1st rank. Implies that Chowking has 0 votes.
 Graceland has one 1st rank with 20 voters. This means Graceland has 20 votes.
 Greenwich also one 1st rank with 25 voters. Implies that Greenwich has 25 voters.
 Jollibee has two 1st rank with 15 and 14 voters respectively. This means that
Jollibee has 29 votes (15+14).
 McDonalds has two 1st rank with both 13 votes. Implies that McDonalds has 26
votes (13+13).
Votes
Chowking 0
Graceland 20
Greenwich 25
Jollibee 15+14=29
McDonalds 13+13=26
So, Jollibee won the 1st rank.
BORDA COUNT METHOD OF VOTING
Named after Jean C. Borda (1770). Reasonable alternative to plurality voting. If there
are 𝑛 candidates or issues in an election, each voter ranks the candidates or issues by
giving 𝑛 points to voter’s first choice, 𝑛 – 1 points to the voter’s second choice, and so
on, with the voter’s least favorite choice receiving 1 point. The candidate or issue that
receives the most total points is the winner (Aufmann, et. al., 2013).
Example 2. Let us consider the same example. One hundred people voted for their
favorite fast food restaurant using 1 for their favorite and 5 for their least
favorite. Which fast food restaurant ranked first? Use borda count
method of voting.
Ranking
Chowking 4 2 4 2 5 5
Graceland 5 3 3 1 3 4
Greenwich 1 4 2 3 2 2
Jollibee 2 5 1 5 1 3
McDonalds 3 1 5 4 4 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Solution. Since there are 5 choices, rank 1 will be given 5 points, rank 2 will be given
4 points, 3 points for rank 3, 2 points for rank 4, and 1 point for rank 5.
Ranking
Chowking 4 2 4 2 5 5
Graceland
Greenwich
Jollibee
McDonalds
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13

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Chowking: 0-Rank 1 - 0 ∙ 5 = 0
2-Rank 2 - (13 + 20) ∙ 4 = 33 ∙ 4 = 132
0-Rank 3 - 0 ∙ 3 = 0
2-Rank 4 - (25 + 15) ∙ 2 = 40 ∙ 2 = 80
2-Rank 5 - (14 + 13) ∙ 1 = 27 ∙ 1 = 27
Total 𝟎 + 𝟏𝟑𝟐 + 𝟎 + 𝟖𝟎 + 𝟐𝟕 = 𝟐𝟑𝟗 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔
Graceland: 1-Rank 1 - 20 ∙ 5 = 100
0-Rank 2 - 0 ∙ 4 = 0
3-Rank 3 - (13 + 15 + 14) ∙ 3 = 42 ∙ 3 = 126
1-Rank 4 - 13 ∙ 2 = 26
1-Rank 5 - 25 ∙ 1 = 25
Total 𝟏𝟎𝟎 + 𝟎 + 𝟏𝟐𝟔 + 𝟐𝟔 + 𝟐𝟓 = 𝟐𝟕𝟕 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔

Greenwich: 1-Rank 1 - 25 ∙ 5 = 100

3-Rank 2 - (15 + 14 + 13) ∙ 4 = 42 ∙ 4 = 168
1-Rank 3 - 20 ∙ 3 = 60
1-Rank 4 - 13 ∙ 2 = 26
0-Rank 5 - 0 ∙ 1 = 0
Total 𝟏𝟎𝟎 + 𝟏𝟔𝟖 + 𝟔𝟎 + 𝟐𝟔 + 𝟎 = 𝟑𝟓𝟒 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔
Jollibee: 2-Rank 1 - (15 + 14) ∙ 5 = 29 ∙ 5 = 145
1-Rank 2 - 25 ∙ 4 = 100
1-Rank 3 - 13 ∙ 3 = 39
0-Rank 4 - 0 ∙ 2 = 0
2-Rank 5 - (13 + 20) ∙ 1 = 33 ∙ 1 = 33
Total 𝟏𝟒𝟓 + 𝟏𝟎𝟎 + 𝟑𝟗 + 𝟎 + 𝟑𝟑 = 𝟑𝟏𝟕 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔
McDonalds: 2-Rank 1 - (13 + 13) ∙ 5 = 26 ∙ 5 = 130
0-Rank 2 - 0 ∙ 4 = 0
1-Rank 3 - 25 ∙ 3 = 75
2-Rank 4 - (20 + 14) ∙ 2 = 34 ∙ 2 = 68
1-Rank 5 - 15 ∙ 1 = 15
Total 𝟏𝟑𝟎 + 𝟎 + 𝟕𝟓 + 𝟔𝟖 + 𝟏𝟓 = 𝟐𝟖𝟖 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔
Using Borda count method of voting, Greenwich rank 1 st (although third in plurality
method of voting).

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PLURALITY WITH ELIMINATION

Variation of plurality method of voting. Like Borda count method of elimination,
voter’s alternate choices are considered (Aufmann, et. al., 2013).
Example 3. Let us consider the same example. One hundred people voted for their
favorite fast food restaurant using 1 for their favorite and 5 for their least
favorite. Which fast food restaurant ranked first? Use plurality with
elimination method of voting.
Ranking
Chowking 4 2 4 2 5 5
Graceland 5 3 3 1 3 4
Greenwich 1 4 2 3 2 2
Jollibee 2 5 1 5 1 3
McDonalds 3 1 5 4 4 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13

Solution. Eliminate first the one with fewest rank 1 votes. If two or more have the
same these alternatives have the same number of rank 1 votes, then all are
eliminated unless that would eliminate all the alternatives. In that case
different method of voting must be used.

From the given, Chowking will be eliminated because it has no rank 1 votes. Now, vote
is retaken with the following important assumption: “Voters do not change their
preferences from round to round”. Rank will be adjusted into rank 1 to rank 4 without
changing the order of preference since there are only 4 remaining alternatives as
shown in the next table.
After elimination
Ranking
Graceland 5 3 3 1 3 4
Greenwich 1 4 2 3 2 2
Jollibee 2 5 1 5 1 3
McDonalds 3 1 5 4 4 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13

New preference schedule

Ranking
Graceland 4 2 3 1 3 4
Greenwich 1 3 2 2 2 2
Jollibee 2 4 1 4 1 3
McDonalds 3 1 4 3 4 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13

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Eliminate again the alternative with fewest rank 1 votes, then adjust/ retake the
votes. Graceland has 20 1st votes, Greenwich has 25, Jollibee has 29 (15+14), and
McDonalds has 26 (13+13). Therefore Graceland will be eliminated, then the
remaining will be adjusted into rank 1 to rank 3
Ranking
Greenwich 1 2 2 1 2 2
Jollibee 2 3 1 3 1 3
McDonalds 3 1 3 2 3 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
1st ranks: Greenwich =25+20=45; Jollibee=15+14=29; McDonalds=13+13=26.
McDonalds has the least rank votes, so McDonalds will be eliminated from the
alternatives. Retake the remaining.
Ranking
Greenwich 1 1 2 1 2 1
Jollibee 2 2 1 2 1 2
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
1strank votes: Greenwich=25+13+20+13=71; Jollibee=15+14=29. Since Jollibee
has the least, therefore Greenwich got the 1st rank using the plurality with elimination
method of voting.
PAIRWISE COMPARISON VOTING METHOD
Referred as “head – to –head” method. Each candidate is compared one – to – one with
each of the other candidates. A candidate receives 1 point for win, 0.5 for tie and 0 for
loss. The candidate with greatest points wins the election. This satisfy the Condorcet
criterion.
Condorcet Criterion. A candidate who wins all possible head – to – head matchups
should win an election when all candidates appear on ballot.
This is one of the fairness criteria voting method should exhibit (Aufmann, et. al.,
2013).
Example 4. Let us consider the same example. One hundred people voted for their
favorite fast food restaurant using 1 for their favorite and 5 for their least
favorite. Which fast food restaurant ranked first? Use the pairwise
comparison voting method.
Ranking
Chowking 4 2 4 2 5 5
Graceland 5 3 3 1 3 4
Greenwich 1 4 2 3 2 2
Jollibee 2 5 1 5 1 3
McDonalds 3 1 5 4 4 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13

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Solution. Create a table for head – to – head comparisons. Shaded cells are duplicates
and cells between the same candidates.
VS Chowking Gracelend Greenwich Jollibee McDonalds
Chowking
Graceland
Greenwich
Jollibee
McDonalds

Matchup 1: Chowking VS Graceland

Ranking
Chowking 4 2 4 2 5 5
Graceland 5 3 3 1 3 4
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Favor to Chowking: 25+13=38
Favor to Graceland: 15+20+14+13=62 (Wins)

Matchup 2: Chowking VS Greenwich

Ranking
Chowking 4 2 4 2 5 5
Greenwich 1 4 2 3 2 2
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Chowking: 13+20=33
Greenwich: 25+15+14+13=67 (Wins)

Matchup 3: Chowking VS Jollibee

Ranking
Chowking 4 2 4 2 5 5
Jollibee 2 5 1 5 1 3
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Chowking: 13+20=33
Jollibee: 25+15+14+13=67 (Wins)

Matchup 4: Chowking VS McDonalds

Ranking
Chowking 4 2 4 2 5 5
McDonalds 3 1 5 4 4 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Chowking: 15+20=35
McDonalds: 25+13+14+13=75 (Wins)

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Matchup 5: Graceland VS Greenwich

Ranking
Graceland 5 3 3 1 3 4
Greenwich 1 4 2 3 2 2
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Graceland: 13+20=33
Greenwich: 25+15+14+13=67 (Wins)

Matchup 6: Graceland VS Jollibee

Ranking
Graceland 5 3 3 1 3 4
Jollibee 2 5 1 5 1 3
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Graceland: 13+20=33
Jollibee: 25+15+14+13=67 (Wins)

Matchup 7: Graceland VS McDonalds

Ranking
Graceland 5 3 3 1 3 4
McDonalds 3 1 5 4 4 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Graceland: 15+20+14=49
McDonalds: 25+13+13=51 (Wins)

Matchup 8: Greenwich VS Jollibee

Ranking
Greenwich 1 4 2 3 2 2
Jollibee 2 5 1 5 1 3
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Greenwich: 25+13+20+13=71 (Wins)
Jollibee: 15+14=29

Matchup 9: Greenwich VS McDonalds

Ranking
Greenwich 1 4 2 3 2 2
McDonalds 3 1 5 4 4 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Greenwich: 25+15+20+14=74 (Wins)
McDonalds: 13+13=26

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Matchup 10: Jollibee VS McDonalds

Ranking
Jollibee 2 5 1 5 1 3
McDonalds 3 1 5 4 4 1
Total Voters 25 13 15 20 14 13
Jollibee: 25+15+14=54 (Wins)
McDonalds: 13+20+13=46

VS Chowking Gracelend Greenwich Jollibee McDonalds

Chowking Graceland Greenwich Jollibee McDonalds
Graceland Greenwich Jollibee McDonalds
Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich
Jollibee Jollibee
McDonalds
Number of wins: Chowking – 0; Graceland – 1; Greenwich – 4;
Jollibee – 3; McDonalds – 2

Greenwich is the 1st rank because it has the greatest number of wins in head – to –
head matchups.

FAIRNESS OF VOTING METHOD AND ARROW’S THEOREM

Fairness Criteria. According to Kenneth J. Arrow (1948)

1. Majority criterion. The candidate receives a majority of the first – place votes
is the winner.
2. Monotonicity criterion. If candidate A wins an election, then candidate A will
also win the election if the only change in the voter’s preference is the
supporters of a different candidate change their votes to support candidate A.
3. Condorcet criterion. A candidate who wins all possible head – to –head
matchups should win an election when all candidates appear on the ballot.
4. Independence of irrelevant alternatives. If a candidate wins an election, the
winner should remain in any recount in which losing candidates withdraw
from the race.
Note: There are other criteria. Kenneth J. Arrow proved that no matter what kind of
voting system we devise, it is impossible for it to satisfy the fairness criteria.

Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem

There is no voting method involving three or more choices that satisfies all four
fairness criteria.

All discussed voting systems, none is fair. We cannot even construct fair voting
system for three or more candidates.

(Aufmann, et. al., 2013).

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Example 5. Suppose three brands of detergents were rank by 100 consumers as

shown below. Show that using Borda count method violates the majority criterion.
Ranking
Brand X 2 1 2
Brand Y 1 3 3
Brand Z 3 2 1
No. of Consumers 55 40 5

Brand X: 1 – Rank 1 40 ∙ 3 = 120

2 – Rank 2 (55 + 5) ∙ 2 = 60 ∙ 2 = 120
0 – Rank 3 0∙1 = 0
Total 240

Brand Y: 1 – Rank 1 55 ∙ 3 = 165

0 – Rank 2 0∙2 = 0
2 – Rank 3 (40 + 5) ∙ 1 = 55 ∙ 1 = 45
Total 210

Brand Z: 1 – Rank 1 5 ∙ 3 = 15
1 – Rank 2 40 ∙ 2 = 80
1 – Rank 3 55 ∙ 1 = 55
Total 150
Using Borda count method of voting, Brand X should be the winner. However, Brand
Y has most the first rank votes which is 55% (more than 50%). The result violates
majority criterion.

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EVALUATION
Answer the following questions. Use separate papers for your solutions and answers.
1. Identify at least 5 preferences of the same kind (e.g. places, tourist
destinations, foods, etc.), then ask at 10 persons (relatives or neighbors) to
rank then. Classify them according to ranking, then determine the first rank
using:
a. Plurality
b. Borda Count
c. Plurality with Elimination
d. Head - to - head voting methods.

2. Search for the latest population of each province of the Bicol Region (Region
V). Suppose, a committee of 50 members will be created which will be the
representatives of each province. Determine the number of representatives
of each province using:
a. Hamilton Plan
b. Jefferson Plan
c. Adam's Method
d. Webster's Method

3. Among the discussed voting methods, in the Philippine setting of election,

which is the most applicable? Explain your answer. Give its advantage and
disadvantages when used in the Philippines.

4. In 5 - 10 sentences, explain which among the voting methods the best is.

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REFERENCES
El- Helalay, S. (2019). The Mathematics of Voting and Apportionment: An
Introduction. Springer Nature Switzerland, ISBN 978-3-030-147668,
Birkhauser, Gewerbestrasse, Switzerland. Retrieved 5 May 2020 from
https://b-ok.cc/book/5000753/178af4
Aufamann, R., Lockwood, J., Nation, R. & Clegg, D. (2008). Mathematical Excursions,
Third Edition. Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA, USA, ISBN-13: 978-1-111-
57849-7, ISBN-10: 1-111-57849-4
Mamije – Cruz, L. (2018). Apportionment and Voting. Retrieved 5 May 2020 from
https://www.slideshare.net/memijecruz/apportionment-and-
voting?qid=ad8007f1-a994-46d0-99b9-
b5e8e189425e&v=&b=&from_search=1
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Official_Presidential_port
rait_of_Thomas_Jefferson_%28by_Rembrandt_Peale%2C_1800%29%28crop
ped%29.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Alexander_Hamilton_por
trait_by_John_Trumbull_1806.jpg
https://www.coconino.edu/resources/files/pdfs/academics/arts-and-
sciences/MAT142/Chapter_9_Apportionment.pdf

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