Score voting in practice, with its tradeoffs and mitigations
A voter at the top marks the ballot and feeds into the engine, a container labeled "Single-winner voting method: Score voting (Range voting)" holding the ballot above the counting rule. The ballot gives each candidate a score on a fixed scale, capturing strength, not just order; the counting rule adds up each candidate's scores across all ballots, and the highest total wins. Below the engine, a box names the single winner: holds the highest total score across all voters. To the right, a Tradeoffs box lists positives (every candidate judged on their own merits, no vote-splitting since scoring one candidate never lowers another, captures strength of preference, and results are summable) and negatives (rewards strategic exaggeration through max/min scoring, and is unfamiliar to most U.S. voters). Below it, a Mitigations box lists a runoff between top scorers (which is STAR), voter education on scoring, and a fixed narrow scale, noting strategic exaggeration can't be fully removed.
Voter
Marks the ballot
Single-winner voting method
Score voting (Range voting)
Ballot
Each candidate given a score
on a fixed scale. Captures
strength, not just order.
Counting rule
Add up each candidate's scores.
Single winner
Holds the highest total score
across all voters.
Tradeoffs
+ Every candidate judged on
their own merits
+ No vote-splitting — scoring
one never lowers another
+ Captures strength, not
just order
+ Simple to add up; summable
− Rewards strategic
exaggeration (max/min scoring)
− Unfamiliar to most U.S. voters
Mitigations
• Runoff between top scorers
(this is STAR)
• Voter education on scoring
• Fixed, narrow scale (0–5)
Strategic exaggeration can't
be fully removed.