Borda Count - Voting and Counting

Voting and Counting

Under the Borda count the voter ranks the list of candidates in order of preference. So, for example, the voter gives a '1' to their first preference, a '2' to their second preference, and so on. In this respect, a Borda count election is the same as elections under other preferential voting systems, such as instant-runoff voting, the Single Transferable Vote or Condorcet's method.

The number of points given to candidates for each ranking is determined by the number of candidates standing in the election. Thus, under the simplest form of the Borda count, if there are five candidates in an election then a candidate will receive five points each time they are ranked first, four for being ranked second, and so on, with a candidate receiving 1 point for being ranked last (or left unranked). In other words, where there are n candidates a candidate will receive n points for a first preference, n – 1 points for a second preference, n – 2 for a third, and so on, as shown in the following example:

Alternatively, votes can be counted by giving each candidate a number of points equal to the number of candidates ranked lower than them, so that a candidate receives n – 1 points for a first preference, n – 2 for a second, and so on, with zero points for being ranked last (or left unranked). Another way to express this is that a candidate ranked in ith place receives n – i points. For example, in a five-candidate election, the number of points assigned for the preferences expressed by a voter on a single ballot paper might be:

While the first of the above two formulae is used in the Slovenian parliamentary elections (as mentioned, for two out of 90 seats only), Nauru uses a sort of modified Borda count: the voter awards the first-ranked candidate with one point, while the second-ranked candidate receives half of a point, the third-ranked candidate receives one-third of a point, etc. (A similar system of weighting lower-preference votes is used in the Oklahoma primary electoral system.) Using the above example, in Nauru the point distribution among the five candidates would be this:

When all votes have been counted, and the points added up, the candidate with most points wins. The Borda count is a preferential voting system; because, from each voter, candidates receive a certain number of points, the Borda count is also classified as a positional voting system. Other positional methods include the 'first-past-the-post' (plurality) system, bloc voting, approval voting and the limited vote.