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The Institute is named after Jean-Charles de Borda, and hence the well-known voting procedure, the Borda Count BC; but Jean-Charles actually invented what is now called the Modified Borda Count, MBC - the difference is subtle:
In a vote on n options, the voter may cast m preferences; and, of course, m < n.
In a BC, points are awarded to (1st, 2nd ... last) preferences cast according to the rule (n, n-1 ... 1) {or (n-1, n-2 ... 0)} whereas,
in an MBC, points are awarded to (1st, 2nd ... last) preferences cast according to the rule (m, m-1 ... 1).
The difference can be huge, especially when the topic is controversial: the BC benefits those who cast only a 1st preference; the MBC encourages the consensual, those who submit not only a 1st preference but also their 2nd (and subsequent) compromise option(s). And if (nearly) every voter states their compromise option(s), an MBC can identify the collective compromise.
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DECISION-MAKER
Inclusive voting app
https://debordavote.com
THE APP TO BEAT ALL APPS, APPSOLUTELY!
(The latest in a long-line of electronic voting for decision-making; our first was in 1991.)
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FINANCES
The Institute was estabished in 1997 with a cash grant of £3,000 from the Joseph Rowntree Charitabe Trust, and has received the occasional sum from Northern Ireland's Community Relations Council and others. Today it relies on voluntary donations and the voluntary work of its board, while most running expenses are paid by the director.
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A BLOG
"De Borda abroad." From Belfast to Beijing and beyond... and back. Starting in Vienna with the Sept 2017 TEDx talk, I give lectures in Belgrade, Sarajevo, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Tehran, Beijing, Tianjin, Xuzhou, Hong Kong and Taiwan... but not in Pyongyang. Then back via Mongolia (where I had been an election observer in June 2017) and Moscow (where I'd worked in the '80s).
I have my little fold-up Brompton with me - surely the best way of exploring any new city! So I prefer to go by train, boat or bus, and then cycle wherever in each new venue; and all with just one plastic water bottle... or that was the intention!
In Sept 2019, I set off again, to promote the book of the journey. After the ninth book launch in Taipei University, I went to stay with friends in a little village in Gansu for the Chinese New Year. The rat. Then came the virus, lockdown... and I was stuck.
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The Hospital for Incurable Protestants The Mémoire of a Collapsed Catholic This is the story of a pacifist in a conflict zone, in Northern Ireland and the Balkans. Only in e-format, but only £5.15. Available from Amazon. |
The director alongside the statue of Jean-Charles de Borda, capitaine et savant, in l’École Navale in Brest, 24.9.2010. Photo by Gwenaelle Bichelot.
Here's the YouTube, the PowerPoint, and the text of the speech (more or less).
Saturday, December 16, 2017 The US Senate is now down to a majority of just one. Meanwhile, in the UK, the 'rebels' defy the whips and Brexit will be softer. But do terms like 'rebel' and 'whip' really belong to a democracy?
Tuesday, December 5, 2017 Here's the YouTube and here's the PowerPoint, and text of the speech (more or less).
Thursday, November 16, 2017 The first Brexit referendum should have been multi-optional! As we argued in 2016-1. If it had been, "remain in the EU" would probably have won. (See the TEDx talk in 2017-15.) Any second referendum should also be multi-optional. Letter in IT. After all, the binary ballot of June 2016 only initiated yet another binary debate: is it to be a 'soft' or a 'hard' Brexit?
Sunday, October 29, 2017 Bingo, the Netherlands now have a government, after (only) 225 days. A Dutch record; the world record is still held by Belgium, at 451 days. Here's the graph. With a matrix vote, it could all haver been done in less than a week. See 2016-16 and 2016-10.
Saturday, October 14, 2017 "Let's recover our common sense," said the white-clothed folk in Catalonia/Spain. So let's have preferential voting: a letter in The Guardian.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017 The Citizens' Assembly prefers to be consistently inconsistent. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/voting-system-of-citizens-assembly-may-distort-says-analysis-1.3248530 See 2016-14.
Friday, October 6, 2017 Ministers support Theresa May. Well they would, wouldn't they. If, however, she did not select, but MPs elected the cabinet... our latest press release.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 x% of Party A, and x'% of Party B, vote 'for'; y% of A and y'% of B vote 'against. A > B, so A has the majority, applies the whip, and wins. But maybe y + y' > x + x'. Hence this press release in the Irish News of 8th Sept. See also 2017-1 and 2016-12.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017 ODIHR, oh dear, OH DEAR! ODIHR does not discuss electoral systems. But to observe a Mongolian (or any other) election without talking about the voting procedure is like talking about Mongolian cuisine without mentioning meat. Here's another view.
Saturday, June 10, 2017 Total number of seats = 650
so a majority = 326
A Tories = 318
B Lab = 262
C SNP = 35
D LD = 12
E DUP = 10
F SF = 7
G PC = 4
H GP = 1
For those who believe in majority rule, a minimal majority coalition government could be either:
A + B, or A + C, or A + D, or A + E, or A + F + G or ...
B + C + D + E + F + G, or B + C + D + E + F + H
and in majoritarian democratic theory, any one of these seven combinations is only totally democratic.
