2026-01 Stormont AERC (see 2026-02)
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Deborda

The de Borda presentation to the Assembly Executive Review Committee took place on 13.01.2026.

Majority rule may be fine.  But a majority opinion cannot be identified in a majority vote, or even a series of majority votes.  So why is everybody talking about simple, weighted or consociational majority votes, as if they are accurate?  Today's presentation shows  -  no, proves  -  that majority voting is ancient and hopelessly inadequate.

1.   A singleton majority vote  -  "Option X, yes or no?"  -  cannot identify a collective opinion, because those who vote 'no' are not even stating their (positive) opinion.

2.   A pairing  -  "Option X or Y?"  -  is ok, if and only if the two options, X and Y, are a duality: eg, "Shall we drive on the left or on the right?"  In contrast, "Should the UK be in the EU or the WTO?" is not ok; it's not a duality; the UK could also be in the EEA or Customs Union, so in this (and many another instance) a multi-option ballot would be needed. 

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3.   Many complain, the Assembly 'culture' is negative.  But, with majority voting, of course it is!  Power-sharing, and decision-sharing, would best be effected in a preferential ballot: see 2026-02.

Article originally appeared on After Jean-Charles de Borda, 1733-99 (http://www.deborda.org/).
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