STAR voting is an

electoral system An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and Referendum, referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political ...

for single-seat elections. Variations also exist for multi-winner and proportional representation elections. The name (an allusion to star ratings) stands for "Score then Automatic Runoff", referring to the fact that this system is a combination of

score voting Score voting or range voting is an electoral system for single-seat elections, in which voters give each candidate a score, the scores are added (or averaged), and the candidate with the highest total is elected. It has been described by various ...

, to pick two finalists with the highest total scores, followed by a "virtual runoff" in which the finalist who is preferred on more ballots wins. It is a type of

cardinal voting Cardinal voting refers to any electoral system which allows the voter to give each candidate an independent evaluation, typically a rating or grade. These are also referred to as "rated" (ratings ballot), "evaluative", "graded", or "absolute" ...

electoral system.

Method

In STAR, voters are given a score, or

ratings ballot A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...

, on which each voter scores every candidate with a number from 0 to 5, with 0 representing "worst" and 5 representing "best." The scores for each candidate are then summed, and the two highest-scored candidates are selected as finalists. In the automatic-runoff round, the finalist who was given a higher score on a greater number of ballots is selected as the winner.

Usage

The concept was first proposed in October 2014 by

Mark Frohnmayer Mark Frohnmayer is a software and electric vehicle entrepreneur. He was the lead programmer of '' Starsiege: Tribes'' and ''Tribes 2'' at Dynamix before leaving to co-found GarageGames, where he helped architect the Torque Game Engine and led the d ...

, and was initially called score runoff voting (SRV). The runoff step was introduced in order to reduce strategic incentives in ordinary score voting, such as

bullet voting Bullet voting, also known as single-shot voting and plump voting, is a voting tactic, usually in multiple-winner elections, where a voter is entitled to vote for more than one candidate, but instead votes for only one candidate. A voter might do th ...

and tactical maximization. Thus, STAR is intended to be a hybrid between (rated)

and (ranked)

instant runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the Un ...

. The first movement to implement STAR voting was centered in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, with chapters in Eugene,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Salem, Astoria, and Ashland. In July 2018, supporters submitted over 16,000 signatures for a ballot initiative in

Lane County, Oregon Lane County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 382,971, making it the fourth-most populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Eugene. It is named in honor of Joseph Lane, Orego ...

, putting Measure 20-290 on the November 2018 ballot. This ballot measure failed, with 47.6% of voters voting yes, and 52.4% of voters voting no. In 2019, the

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

adopted STAR for all internal elections. A 2020 ballot initiative for the city of Eugene (in which a 54% majority had supported the 2018 county initiative) was attempted, as well as a second attempt at Lane County, and an initiative in Troutdale, Oregon. On July 27, 2020, after the Eugene City Council deadlocked at 4-4 on a vote to refer a measure allowing STAR voting to be used in city elections to the November 2020 ballot, Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis cast the deciding vote against the referral, meaning that no Eugene ballot measure would be held in 2020. The

Independent Party of Oregon The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is a centrist political party in the U.S. state of Oregon with more than 135,000 registrants since its inception in January 2007. The IPO is Oregon's third-largest political party and the first political party ...

used STAR voting in their 2020 primary election. The Democratic Party of Oregon used STAR Voting for their elections for delegates to the 2020 Democratic covention. In 2022, the

Libertarian Party of Oregon The Libertarian Party of Oregon is a political party representing the national Libertarian Party in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is organized as a minor party for state election law, and recognized by the Oregon as a statewide nominating party. ...

authorized STAR voting for its internal elections starting in 2023.

Example

Suppose that 100 voters each decided to grant from 0 to 5 stars to each city such that their most liked choice got 5 stars, and least liked choice got 0 stars, with the intermediate choices getting an amount proportional to their relative distance. The top-two frontrunners are Nashville and Chattanooga. Of the two, Nashville is preferred by 68% (42+26) to 32% (15+17) of voters, so Nashville, the capital in real life, likewise wins in the example. For comparison, note that traditional

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

would elect Memphis, even though most citizens consider it the worst choice, because 42% is larger than any other single city.

Instant-runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the Un ...

would elect the 2nd-worst choice (Knoxville), because the central candidates would be eliminated early. Under score voting, Nashville would have won, since it had the highest score in the first round. In

approval voting Approval voting is an electoral system in which voters can select many candidates instead of selecting only one candidate. Description Approval voting ballots show a list of the options of candidates running. Approval voting lets each voter i ...

, with each voter selecting their top two cities, Nashville would also win because of the significant boost from Memphis residents. A

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

would have a runoff between Memphis and Nashville, where Nashville would win. In this particular case, there is no way for any single city of voters to get a better outcome through tactical voting. However, Chattanooga and Knoxville voters combined could vote strategically to make Chattanooga win; while Memphis and Nashville voters could defend against that strategy and ensure Nashville still won by strategically giving Nashville a higher rating and/or Chattanooga and Knoxville lower ratings.

Ties

Tie votes in STAR Voting are rare but as with any voting method they can occur, especially in elections without many voters. In most cases, ties in STAR voting can be broken by referring back to the ballots themselves for either the Scoring or Runoff round. Ties in the Scoring round are broken in favor of the candidate who was preferred by more voters. Ties in the Runoff round are broken in favor of the candidate who was scored higher. Ties which cannot be broken as above are considered a true tie.

Variations

STAR Voting can be used for multi-winner elections as i
Bloc STAR voting
or it can be used for

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

elections usin
Proportional STAR Voting
also known as STAR-PR. Proportional STAR Voting: Each voter scores all the candidates on a scale from 0-5. The results are tabulated using a proportional STAR algorithm such a
Allocated Score
o
Sequentially Spent Score

Properties

Unlike ranked voting systems, STAR voting allows voters to express preferences of varying strengths, though unlike Score voting, it does not take voters' strength of preference into account in 2-candidate elections. STAR voting satisfies the

monotonicity criterion The monotonicity criterion is a voting system criterion used to evaluate both single and multiple winner ranked voting systems. A ranked voting system is monotonic if it is neither possible to prevent the election of a candidate by ranking them h ...

, i.e. raising your vote's score for a candidate can never hurt their chances of winning, and lowering it can never help their chances.D R Woodall
"Monotonicity and Single-Seat Election Rules"
''

Voting matters ''Voting matters'' was a peer-reviewed academic journal whose purpose is "To advance the understanding of preferential voting systems". Originally published by the Electoral Reform Society (1994–2003), ''Voting matters'' then became a publication ...

'', Issue 6, 1996. This article calls the monotonicity criterion in question "mono-raise", and also gives other monotonicity criteria that STAR voting fails. For instance, STAR voting violates "mono-raise-delete", defined as "A candidate X should not be harmed if X is raised on some ballots and all candidates now below X on those ballots are deleted from them". In the case of STAR, "deleted" would mean "given the lowest score"; deleting a candidate Y could change the runoff from X vs Y, which X wins, to X vs Z, which Z wins. It also satisfies the

resolvability criterion Resolvability criterion can refer to any voting system criterion that ensures a low possibility of tie votes. * In Nicolaus Tideman's version of the criterion, for every (possibly tied) winner in a result, there must exist a way for one added vot ...

(in both Tideman and Woodall's versions). It does not satisfy the

Condorcet criterion An electoral system satisfies the Condorcet winner criterion () if it always chooses the Condorcet winner when one exists. The candidate who wins a majority of the vote in every head-to-head election against each of the other candidatesthat is, a ...

(i.e., is not a

Condorcet method A Condorcet method (; ) is an election method that elects the candidate who wins a majority of the vote in every head-to-head election against each of the other candidates, that is, a candidate preferred by more voters than any others, whenever ...

), although with all-strategic voters and perfect information, the Condorcet winner is a strong

Nash equilibrium In game theory, the Nash equilibrium, named after the mathematician John Nash, is the most common way to define the solution of a non-cooperative game involving two or more players. In a Nash equilibrium, each player is assumed to know the equili ...

. It does, however, satisfy the

Condorcet loser criterion In single-winner voting system theory, the Condorcet loser criterion (CLC) is a measure for differentiating voting systems. It implies the majority loser criterion but does not imply the Condorcet winner criterion. A voting system complying with ...

and the

majority loser criterion The majority loser criterion is a criterion to evaluate single-winner voting systems. The criterion states that if a majority of voters prefers every other candidate over a given candidate, then that candidate must not win. Either of the Condor ...

. There are a number of other

voting system criteria An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and Referendum, referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political ...

it does not satisfy. These include the

majority criterion The majority criterion is a single-winner voting system criterion, used to compare such systems. The criterion states that "if one candidate is ranked first by a majority (more than 50%) of voters, then that candidate must win". Some methods that ...

, since the highest-rated candidates that proceed to the runoff may not be the first preference of a majority. It does not satisfy the

mutual majority criterion The mutual majority criterion is a criterion used to compare voting systems. It is also known as the majority criterion for solid coalitions and the generalized majority criterion. The criterion states that if there is a subset S of the candidate ...

, although the more candidates there are in the mutual majority set, the greater the chances that at least one of them is among the two finalists in the runoff, in which case one of them will win. It does not always satisfy

reversal symmetry Reversal symmetry is a voting system criterion which requires that if candidate A is the unique winner, and each voter's individual preferences are inverted, then A must not be elected. Methods that satisfy reversal symmetry include Borda count, r ...

(though it only violates it for exactly three candidates). It also violates

participation Participation or Participant may refer to: Politics *Participation (decision making), mechanisms for people to participate in social decisions *Civic participation, engagement by the citizens in government *e-participation, citizen participation ...

consistency In classical deductive logic, a consistent theory is one that does not lead to a logical contradiction. The lack of contradiction can be defined in either semantic or syntactic terms. The semantic definition states that a theory is consistent ...

; and

independence of clones In voting systems theory, the independence of clones criterion measures an election method's robustness to strategic nomination. Nicolaus Tideman was the first to formulate this criterion, which states that the winner must not change due to the ...

(where any clones of the highest rated candidate may receive almost the same rating and enter the runoff, ahead of the second most popular non-clone). It does not satisfy the

later-no-harm criterion The later-no-harm criterion is a voting system criterion formulated by Douglas Woodall. Woodall defined the criterion as " ding a later preference to a ballot should not harm any candidate already listed." For example, a ranked voting method in w ...

, meaning that giving a positive rating to a less-preferred candidate can cause a more-preferred candidate to lose.

Discussion of STAR's criteria compliances

FairVote FairVote, formerly the Center for Voting and Democracy, is a 501(c)(3) organization that advocates electoral reform in the United States. Founded in 1992 as Citizens for Proportional Representation to support the implementation of proportional r ...

, an organization that promotes the use of

instant-runoff voting Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the Un ...

, argues that STAR's failure of the majority criterion and the later-no-harm criterion is problematic. STAR advocates have responded, noting that STAR satisfies a relaxed version of the majority criterion, and always elects the majority preferred finalist (of all voters who have a preference between the finalists), and that the system better balances the competing, incompatible favorite betrayal and

later-no-harm The later-no-harm criterion is a voting system criterion formulated by Douglas Woodall. Woodall defined the criterion as " ding a later preference to a ballot should not harm any candidate already listed." For example, a ranked voting method i ...

criteria, resulting in superior voter satisfaction, as demonstrated by simulations in which STAR performs better than many other methods, including Instant Runoff voting.

Notes

External links

STAR voting

The Equal Vote Coalition
an advocacy organization for STAR voting and other reforms.
★.✓
An online platform for carrying out STAR voting elections. {{voting methods Electoral systems Single-winner electoral systems Cardinal electoral systems Monotonic electoral systems