Third Vote Election Method

Main reference sources: Analytical Theory of Democracy, Chapters 15-17, and two videos

During the electoral campaign, each candidate reformulates its manifesto in the form of dichotomic policy questions (assuming Yes/No-answers, e.g., Unify health insurance – Y/N, Legalize cannabis – Y/N, etc.). Then each candidate answes the questions of all the candidates, and a mathematical model selects 20-30 questions that maximum contrast between the parties with respect to their responses to the questions selected. The electors, instead of (or additionally to) casting votes for candidates by name, also answer the questions selected, and the balances of public opinion on these issues determine the political profile of the electorate as a single body. The election winner – the most representative candidate – is the one whose policy profile is the closest to the policy profile of the electorate. This approach is also used to find the most representative parliament. The project includes the theoretical framework, organizational issues, and a series of electoral experiments within the Student parliament elections at the Karlsruhe Institiute of Technology.