Bole

This is a visualization of the current single-winner voting systems.

It is recommended that you read the entire introduction before you try the simulation out, because the concepts therein are essential.

Opinion plane

The ideal electoral system is the one that straightforwardly and most accurately represents the preferences of voters. This is the goal every voting system strives for.
To represent the opinions of voters and candidates, an opinion plane is a must-have. Inside our simulation, the placement of a voter/candidate on the x and y axis represents their opinion, meaning the closer the voter is to a candidate, the more similar their opinions are.

opinion visualization example with arrows

Participants

In our visualization the voters are marked with a smaller circle, and the candidates are marked with a bigger circle. If a voter has the same color as a candidate, it means that the voter voted for the candidate.

However, this is (only) a simulation. In real life there is no such thing as 2 different and independent opinion axes.

Also, in our simulation, voters know every candidate's exact opinion. That does not resemble a real life scenario, because sometimes it's in a candidate's best interest to lie about their opinion. So in today's world we don't know who we can trust.

Voter types

There are two ways a voter may vote: honestly, or tactically. The honest way is the intended way, the other is a consequence of the weaknesses of some voting systems.

Honest/sincere voter

Honest voters vote for the candidate with whom their views align the most. They do not consider the candidate's chances of winning, and they do not change their preference based on that. However, the design of many voting systems prevents full expression of voter opinion. As a result, voters may attempt to prevent undesired outcomes rather than support positive outcomes. That is precisely how they succumb to the dark side, namely: tactical voting. They are represented with a non-filled circle in the simulation.
Tactical/insincere voter

Tactical voters, also called insincere or sophisticated voters may support another candidate more strongly than their sincere preference in order to prevent an undesirable outcome. This situation occurs in elections with more than two candidates. For example: a voter might gain a better outcome by voting for a less preferred but more generally popular candidate. There are a lot of ways for a voter to vote tactically, for example, they can rank an alternative lower in hopes of defeating it. They are represented with a filled circle in the visualization.

Opinion plane

Participants

Voter types

Honest/sincere voter

Tactical/insincere voter