by Clay Shentrup
Here is a 4-candidate Instant Runoff Voting election (candidates named A,B,C,D):
#voters | their vote |
---|---|
35% | A > C > D > B |
17% | B > C > D > A |
32% | C > D > B > A |
16% | D > B > C > A |
Instant Runoff Voting selects candidate B as the winner, beating A in the final round, 65% to 35%.
But wait!
A huge 67% majority of voters would rather have candidate C than candidate B. And candidate C received nearly twice as many first-place votes as candidate B, 32% to 17%. And an even larger 83% super-majority of voters would rather have candidate D than B (and D got just a little fewer first-place votes than B). So the claim that IRV "elects majority winners" is seriously misleading. Also...
Also, C is the Condorcet "beats-all" winner, but doesn't make it to the final round: 65% majority says C>A; 67% majority says C>B; 84% majority says C>D.
And A is the Condorcet "lose-to-all" loser, but makes it to the final round (65% majorities say others>A).