The de Borda Institute recently gave
a demonstration of electronic multi-option preference voting
to the Policy and Resources Committee of Belfast City Council.
Their committee rooms are fitted with computers, data projectors
and plasma screens, so it was very easy to download our computer
program, Decision-maker, and run the exercise described.
The hope is that, one day, soon, the council chamber itself
will also be fitted with technologies appropriate to those
occasions when our democracy is plural and our debates are
multi-optional. On such occasions, the Norwegian parliament
uses two-round voting, the Swedish chamber opts for serial
voting; and many countries use a form of plurality voting
in referendums.
So far, the (modifed) Borda count has not been employed in
decision-making in any elected chamber in these islands. The
Green Party has suggested this methodology in the Dáil,
while two years ago, Lord Meghnad Desai advocated this "rankings"
procedure when Westminster was debating the question of reforming
the House of Lords, with five options on their agenda. (Hansard,
22.1.2003.) Sadly, his advice was ignored; instead, they took
five majority votes, lost the lot, and then said there was
a crisis!
Results from the meeting can be viewed
here(pdf 20kb - Adobe Reader required)
Back to top
Site latest
Online Consensus
OurKingdom, the new economics foundation and the de Borda Institute recently gave interested parties from think tanks, research groups and campaigning organisations, and members of the general public, the opportunity to participate in an online trial of consensus decision making.
The de Borda Institute and nef (the new economics foundation) have received a grant from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust to test the potential of consensus voting More...
Site information now available in a number
of langugages
