Condorcet method

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The Condorcet or majority-rule methods (English: ; French: [kɔ̃dɔʁsɛ]) are a family of election systems that elect the majority-preferred (Condorcet) winner if one exists. A majority-preferred candidate is a candidate who would win a majority of votes in any head-to-head election against any opponent. In other words, they are a candidate who would win in any one-on-one race (one without spoilers). The head-to-head elections need not be done separately; a voter's choice within any given pair can be determined from the ranking. Some elections may not have a Condorcet winner because the majority's preferences can be cyclic: in other words, it is possible every candidate has an opponent that would defeat them in a two-candidate contest. This is similar to a game of rock, paper, scissors: a candidate "scissors" may beat "paper," but still lose to "rock". The possibility of such a cycle is known as Condorcet's paradox. (Empirically, however, such cycles are rare, with most large public elections...

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