What is a Borda preferendum?
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A Borda preferendum or modified Borda count (MBC) is a multi-option voting process for use in decision-making. The procedures cover both the debate which precedes the vote, as well as the vote-and-count. Basically, it is a preference voting procedure by which can be identified that option which gains the highest average preference score. It may also be used as a points system, in which the winner is the outcome with the most points.
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- What is the technical name? A Modified Borda Count ( mbc ).
- So what are the procedures? i) A chairperson and a team of, say, three consensors invite all parties in the debate to propose options. The consensors produce a list of these options. ii) The ...
- Is a vote always necessary? No. On some occasions, the very procedure itself will allow for the emergence of a consensus, without any need for a vote at all.
- What’s wrong with majority rule? Not much. It is certainly much better than any form of minority rule, especially a dictatorship. The thing that is wrong, however, is this: a majority opinion cannot be ...
- What happens in an mbc if people vote for only some, or only one option? In a 5-option ballot paper, if I vote for only my favourite option, my favourite gets just 1 point. If you vote for 2 options, your favourite gets 2 ...
- What happens when there are lots of options on the ballot paper? ok , let’s take an extreme example: drawing up a short list of six candidates from a total of 78 applicants (to take a real life scenario). Obviously, it would be ...
- Is the preferendum suitable for all decision-making situations? No. If the subject matter is non-contentious, then by all means use a majority vote. On controversial topics, however, and especially on those occasions when someone(s) object(s) to the use of ...
- Is it suitable for an election? Only on those occasions when voters are choosing one outcome. In decision-making, it is always possible, at least in theory, to find a compromise. In elections, however, you can’t ...
- What consensual voting procedures can be used in elections? If the election is for two or more representatives or committee members or whatever, all of whom will then have the same status, the recommended procedure is a Quota Borda System ...
- Does the preferendum lend itself better to macro (that is abortion, sovereignty, etc) or micro decisions, (should a school change its uniform, should we have a neighbourhood watch, etc.)? It can be used in any situation. If the vote is held in parliament, the consensors may draw up a list of a maximum of 10 or even 12 options. In ...
- If there are a number of areas requiring decisions on, for example, a sports’ club committee agenda, should each decision be made by preferendum, and who should vote, the elected committee or each mem The question of who takes which decisions are normally enshrined in a written constitution. And a constitution, and constitutional amendments, are definitely things which should not be subject to ...
- Is there not a danger that the use of the preferendum idea would lead to a complete snarl-up in the administration of, for example, a business? The preferendum is not a panacea for everything, of course, but evidence suggests that, in many instances, it would facilitate the very opposite of an impasse . Businesses tend ...
- Can a preferendum be manipulated? In a 5-option preferendum on options A, B, C, D and E , if my favourite was D and my 2 nd preference was B , then if I thought that ...
- If a preferendum had been used in 1920 in Ireland, wouldn’t the country still have had to be divided? (Working on the principle of the least discomfort for the smallest number – would not the border s Doubtless, a divided Ireland (6 and 26) would have been one of the options; 9 + 23 might have been another. Other options might have involved an Anglo-Celtic Federation, administration under ...
- Should every division in Westminster/Dáil be decided by preferendum? Again, where do you draw the line between suitable and unsuitable issues? In a plural society, with a plural parliament, doubtless there will be a plurality of ideas on how best to solve the problems of the day. If, then, there are more ...
- When there is a difference in quality or gravity between one outcome and another, (eg. Whether or not to go to war?) does this not highlight a weakness of the preferendum idea? When the un Security Council debated Iraq in Oct. 2002 – Resolution 1441 – doubtless all fifteen members had their own views on what was the best policy: more or fewer ...
- The ‘tyranny of the majority’ presupposes that the majority is always wrong. Is it? No. In some instances, the consensus view will be the same as a majority view. Indeed, when there is unanimity, the consensus view will be the same as any minority view ...
- Are there any examples of decision-making situations where the preferendum wouldn’t help? Not that we know of. A preferendum can’t do any harm. Sometimes, however, the outcome will not be conclusive, in which case, it may be treated as a straw poll, an ...
- Is it necessary to have good maths’ skills or technology to operate preferendums? No. The mathematics need only involve simple addition, adding up points. And in any case, it can all be done by computer these days.
- Is a preferendum mathematically ok? Nothing is perfect. Something called Arrow’s ‘Impossibility Theorem’ is a complicated piece of mathematics which proves that there is no such thing as a perfect voting system, something which, no matter ...
- Can the mathematical difficulties be overcome? A Condorcet count suffers from something called a paradox: if Ireland beats Scotland, Scotland beats England, and England beats Ireland, (as in the 2008 six-nations rugby internationals), no-one will know which ...
- What’s the difference between a Condorcet and an MBC? It’s a bit like a sports league in which the winner could be the team which wins the most matches, (Condorcet); or it could be the team which scores the most ...
- If having held a preferendum, an unscrupulous minority still persists in violently pursuing its goals, how should it be dealt with? The chances of a minority even existing will be minimal. In this respect, t he word becomes redundant.
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