STAR voting facts for kids
STAR voting is a special way to choose a winner in an election. It helps voters pick the person they like best. It's designed to make sure the winner truly represents what most people want.
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What is STAR Voting?
STAR stands for "Score Then Automatic Runoff." It is a type of score voting. In score voting, you do not just pick one person. Instead, you give points to each candidate. You can give points from 0 to 5, or 0 to 100, depending on the system. The more points you give, the more you like that candidate.
How Does STAR Voting Work?
STAR voting works in two main steps:
Scoring Candidates
First, voters score all the candidates. For example, you might give a score of 0 to a candidate you do not like at all. You might give a score of 5 to a candidate you really like. You can give different scores to different people. You can also give the same score to more than one candidate.
Finding the Top Two
After everyone has voted, all the scores are added up. The system finds the total score for each candidate. The two candidates with the highest total scores move on to the next step. These are like the "finalists" in a competition.
The Automatic Runoff
This is the "Automatic Runoff" part of STAR. For the two finalists, the system looks at every voter's ballot again. It checks which of the two finalists each voter preferred. If you gave Candidate A a score of 5 and Candidate B a score of 3, you preferred Candidate A. If you gave Candidate A a 2 and Candidate B a 4, you preferred Candidate B. The finalist who was preferred by more voters wins the election.
Why Use STAR Voting?
Supporters of STAR voting believe it has several benefits:
- More Choices: It lets voters show how much they like all candidates, not just their top choice.
- Fairer Winners: It aims to pick a winner that most people are happy with, even if they were not everyone's first choice.
- Less "Wasted" Votes: Voters do not feel like they have to pick only a popular candidate to avoid "wasting" their vote. They can score who they truly like.
Where Has STAR Voting Been Used?
In 2018, voters in Lane County, Oregon in the United States decided not to use STAR voting for their future elections. However, it is still discussed and used in other smaller elections or organizations.
Images for kids
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The STAR Voting ballot, including recommended instructions and formatting details.
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Flow chart of STAR Voting
