Votingensemblit

Votingensemblit is a framework in social choice theory for creating a single election outcome by aggregating the results of multiple voting rules. It is primarily a theoretical and experimental construct, explored in computational social choice and decision-support contexts rather than as a standard electoral method.

In a votingensemblit procedure, ballots are processed by several base methods, such as plurality, ranked-choice, approval, and score voting. Each method yields a result vector or ranking for the candidates. An aggregation model then combines these outputs by applying weights or using a meta-model to compute an overall score for each candidate. The winner is the candidate with the highest aggregated score. Variants may use hard voting, selecting a winner from the top base method, or soft voting, which assigns probabilistic scores to candidates. Normalization may be applied to bring outputs from different methods to a common scale.

Proponents argue that votingensemblit can balance the strengths and weaknesses of individual methods, potentially improving robustness to method-specific flaws and allowing exploration of trade-offs among criteria such as monotonicity and participation. Critics note that the choice of base methods and weights can influence outcomes, which may reduce transparency and create new opportunities for manipulation if not carefully designed and audited.

Applications of votingensemblit appear mainly in theoretical studies, simulations, and decision-support tools for organizations experimenting with governance mechanisms. It is not widely used for formal governmental elections, given concerns about legitimacy, auditability, and complexity.

See also: ensemble methods, social choice theory, voting method, ranked-choice voting, approval voting, Condorcet methods.