I just stumbled across Uncyclopedia. On a quick glance, you may think it is one of the many Wikipedia clones that clog up your Google search results, but it is very different. Uncyclopedia is a Wikipedia parody, and it is quite funny. Surprisingly, they have an STV article. Not only is it funny, the people writing it clearly know what STV is all about. Kudos for making STV humor!
OpenSTV 1.3 will include a complete overhaul of the user interface.
The first major change is that when you run an election, you must specify a file as the source of the ballots. Previously, there was a working set of ballots in memory that was used automatically. The second major change is that ballot editing functionality has been moved into a different window and you can have multiple ballot editing windows open at a time. Overall, the program is a lot easier to use.
There are three items in this issue available at the Voting matters web site:
- Thomas Hare: A New Statistical Method
This is a reprint of his classic paper to match the one in the previous issue by H R Droop. Both of these articles raise issues about the voting for the House of Commons which have still not been resolved! It is hoped that making both of these articles more accessible will enhance the understanding of STV. - Pater Emerson: Review - The Persuadable Voter
Many users of OpenSTV are no doubt aware that voting is fascinating subject from a mathematical perspective. The American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics have announced that the theme for Mathematics Awareness Month 2008 is Math and Voting!
OpenSTV 1.2 is now available. The most significant changes in this release are the following:
- Changed output to be more descriptive and easier to read.
- Changed implementation of Supplemental Vote to use all rankings.
- Changed implementation of IRV to stop sooner (won't change outcome).
- Print substages for ERS97 STV.
- Now possible to have unlimited precision (but max is set to 20 for gui).
- Meek/Warren implemented in fixed point.
We would greatly appreciate assistance in further developing this
software. We are looking for Python programmers (or people willing to
learn). Please contact me if you are willing to help.
