Election Selection The scientists and mathematicians analyzing voting theory in "May the Best Man Lose" [November] are only beginning to scratch the surface of what it takes to reach a true consensus. As a mediator, I work with consensus every day. It is a much more subtle and intuitive process than any of the proposed mathematical models. I was glad to see Dana Mackenzie point out that the approval and Borda methods result from different theoretical constructs— one deductive and the other visual. Each method can produce results that are counterintuitive under some conditions. True consensus is the result of a much more complex system, which may include both of these constructs and many more. For example, although each voter may be able to rank choices 1-2-3-4, this ranking doesn't tell us the relative strengths of each voter's preferences. The consensus-building process requires each decision maker to weigh the preferences of every other decision maker as well as the reasons for these preferences. What is good for the decision makers as a group is also usually weighed against what is good for each of them individually.
Susan Cameron La Mirada, California
Mackenzie's article on voting methods was excellent, but it left out the voting system used in Australia. Although cumbersome and time-consuming, it has advantages not found in either the approval or Borda methods. All votes are first sorted according to voters' first choices. Then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and his or her votes are redistributed according to voters' second choices. Once again, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and his or her votes are redistributed according to each voter's next choice. The process continues until one candidate remains.
Consider also the remarkable proof by economist Kenneth Arrow. After postulating the basic properties that all voting systems ought to have, he then proved that no voting method can be constructed with all of those properties.
