Schulze method facts for kids
The Schulze method is a special way of voting. It helps groups choose one winner from many options. Markus Schulze created this method in 1997. It has other names too, like Beatpath Method. Many groups use it, including the Wikimedia Foundation, Debian, and Gentoo Linux. The KDE community also uses this method.
Contents
How the Schulze Method Works
When people vote using the Schulze method, they don't just pick one person. Instead, they rank all the candidates from their favorite to their least favorite. For example, you might rank Alice as 1st, Bob as 2nd, and Charlie as 3rd.
You can also give the same rank to more than one candidate. If you like Alice and Bob equally, you could rank them both as 1st. If you don't rank a candidate at all, it means you like them the least.
Comparing Candidates
After everyone votes, the method compares every pair of candidates. Let's say we have Alice and Bob. The system looks at all the ballots. It counts how many voters prefer Alice over Bob. It also counts how many prefer Bob over Alice. The candidate with more votes in that pair wins the "pair comparison." The number of voters who agreed with the winner is noted.
Finding the Strongest Path
Next, the method looks for the "strongest path" between candidates. Imagine a path from one candidate to another. For example, from Alice to Bob, then from Bob to Charlie. Each step on this path has a "strength." This strength is the number of voters who preferred the first candidate over the second in that pair.
The Schulze method finds the strongest path from every candidate to every other candidate. The "strength" of a path is the strength of its weakest link. For example, if Alice beats Bob with 10 votes, and Bob beats Charlie with 8 votes, the path from Alice to Charlie (through Bob) has a strength of 8.
Declaring the Winner
The winner is the candidate who can beat every other candidate with a stronger path. This means their "strongest path" to any other candidate is always stronger than the other candidate's "strongest path" back to them. This makes sure the winner is the most preferred candidate overall.
See also
In Spanish: Método Schulze para niños
