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Borda count

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Borda awards points for positions in a ranking. With three options, your first choice gets 2 points, second gets 1, and last gets none. Add the points from every ballot. The highest total wins.

With more options, the scale expands: first gets one fewer point than the number of options, and each lower position gets one less.

Count the points for every position
Nine voters, grouped by how they ranked the options
VotersFirst choiceSecond choiceThird choice
4ParkCinemaMuseum
3MuseumCinemaPark
2CinemaMuseumPark
First choices × 2Second choices × 1
Park8 + 0 = 8 points
8
Cinema4 + 7 = 11 points
47
Museum6 + 2 = 8 points
62

Cinema wins with 11 points. Its first choices contribute 4 points, and its second choices contribute 7.

Support beyond first choices

Borda rewards high positions across all ballots. An option that often comes second can outscore one with more first choices if that rival also appears near the bottom of many rankings. Cinema wins here because it is first or second on every ballot.

The points count every position from the start. Unlike instant runoff, second-choice points do not wait for first choices to be eliminated.

Adding or removing an option

The points gap between two options depends on how far apart they sit in each ranking. If a new option is ranked between them, the higher one gains another point over the lower one, even though the voter still prefers the same one. Across the ballots, that can change which of the original options wins.

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Voters rank all options in order. The room calculates the points for the number of options you entered. Equal highest totals are reported as a tie.

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