Re: GNOME Board of Directors Foundation Elections Spring 2009 - Preliminary results

[Shaun McCance <shaunm gnome org>]

On Fri, 2009-06-26 at 19:22 +0530, Arun Raghavan wrote:
> 2009/6/26 Dave Neary <dneary gnome org>:
> > Hi,
> >
> > Dave Neary wrote:
> > > A small correction to explain exactly how random transfers work:
> >
> > Well, actually, I just found out from the OpenSTV guys, that how Filippo
> > said is how they work.
> >
> > In count 1, Vincent has 60 votes, they're shoved into a stack. The top 33
> > votes from the stack get redistributed in count 2. No randomness at all, no
> > shuffling, and we don't look at the distribution of the 2nd preferences to
> > calculate who gets what.
>
> If I understand the system correctly, the randomness does exist - the
> outcome is dependent on the order in which ballots are cast (or
> counted), which can be thought of as a random process. Is this
> correct?

I could easily conceive of scenarios in which the order
of votes received has a non-negligible correlation to
voter preference.

Time zones, work schedules, ability of a candidate to
galvanize his supporters to vote early, etc.

I'm not saying there is a correlation.  I'm just saying
I'm very distrustful of mere guesses that there is not.

--
Shaun