BTR-Score Voting

BTR-Score is Easy

A New Version of an Ancient Method

BTR-Score vs Choose 1 Plurality Voting

BTR-Score is Easy

BTR-Score (Score voting with a Bottom Two Runoff) lets you rate each candidate. Give your favorite candidate a 10 and the worst candidate a zero. Rate the other candidates in comparison. Ties are allowed.

Each candidate's total score is determined. A tournament is seeded with the scores. The highest total score earns the top seed; the candidate with the lowest score is the bottom seed.

In the tournament's first contest, the candidates with the two lowest scores compete. The candidate preferred on most ballots wins. In the next contest, the winner goes against the next lowest candidate. This continues until the surviving candidate meets the highest seed; that contest elects the winner.

If you rated Candidate B a 7 and Candidate C a 3, your vote will go to Candidate B when B and C meet in the tournament. If you gave B and C equal scores, your vote does not help or harm either candidate.

Power to the Voters

Voters gain a powerful voice in fair elections. We can express our opinions about every candidate. No longer will we be limited to voting for the lessor of two evils. Voter turnout will grow.

A True Voice for Third Parties and Independents

We seldom vote for third party or independent candidates because it could help a major party candidate we detest. Support for third parties and independents is under reported in every election. This harms efforts to recruit members, generate publicity, raise funds, and win elections.

BTR-Score accurately reports support for all candidates.

Exciting Elections for the News Media, Podcastors and Bloggers

In our current elections, we can only rank one candidate as better than the others. Boring.

Because we rate every candidate, BTR-Score election results give us more to talk about. Fair elections that give voters real choices have more suspense.

State Constitutional Requirements

BTR-Score complies with state constitutions that require election winners to have the highest, largest, or greatest number of votes, or a plurality of the votes. Approval, Ranked Choice, and STAR voting also comply (below).

A New Version of an Ancient Method

The BTR-Score tournament will always elect the candidate who can beat all other candidates one-on-one. In the rare election with no "beats all" winner, BTR-Score will elect a deserving winner, the champion of the tournament.

Most voting methods will occasionally fail to elect the "beats all" winner. Those methods are not good enough for America.

Ramon Llull proposed the "beats all" concept in 1299. Nicolas Caritat, the Marquis de Condorcet, popularized "beats all" methods in the late 18th century. Voting methods that always elect the "beats all" candidate are known as Condorcet methods. A candidate who beats all other candidates one on one is a Condorcet winner.

BTR-Score is the best Condorcet method because in the rare election without a Condorcet winner, the BTR tournament will elect a deserving winner in a fair and transparent manner. Also, BTR-Score is much simpler than other Condorcet methods.

BTR-Score is the most fair and reliable voting method for single-winner elections. Because it is a Condorcet method, we know exactly what it will do; it needs no additional testing. More complex Condorcet methods, such as Smith-Score, can only equal BTR-Score.

Defenders of the status quo will say that we cannot use BTR-Score in American elections because BTR-Score has not been used in American elections. They support Choose 1 voting because its flaws protect the dominant party in each state and district.

BTR-Score vs Choose 1 Plurality Voting

Support All Your Favorite Candidates with BTR-Score

In a Choose 1 race, you often must vote for the lessor of two evils instead of your favorite candidate to avoid helping the major party candidate you detest. Vote splitting is unfair to you and your favorite candidate. BTR-Score ends vote splitting and spoilers; you can support every candidate you like and diss the ones you don't like.

Choose 1 Plurality Voting Locks in Two Party Rule

Because voters fear the spoiler effect, they seldom vote for independent or third-party candidates. Two party rule is locked in. Are you satisfied with our dysfunctional duopoly of power?

By letting voters rate all candidates, BTR-Score gives third-party and independent candidates a fair chance and a true voice.

Choose 1 is Unreliable

Spoilers are a threat in every Choose 1 election with over two candidates. Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft split votes in the 2012 election, allowing Woodrow Wilson to win with less than 42% of the vote. Ralph Nader spoiled Al Gore's chances in the 2000 election. Robert Kennedy Jr. threatened Biden and Trump in 2024. Trump was smart enough to offer him a job. BTR-Score is not prone to spoilers.

Voting system experts rank Choose 1 plurality voting near the bottom of the heap. Only random choice and dictatorship are lower. To learn more, please visit Plurality Voting Pros and Cons.

Strategy

Choose 1 voting forces you to make strategic decisions in every election with three or more candidates. A faction can split its opponent's vote by running a straw candidate with a similar platform.

Because BTR-Score resists strategy, you can sincerely rate all candidates with confidence. In a BTR-Score race, bullet voting (giving your top candidate 10, and all others 0) would harm the chances of your second choice without helping your favorite. No candidate can win the tournament without defeating their strongest rival. An organized strategic campaign would run into the same problem.

Alternative Voting Methods

These methods are superior to Choose 1 plurality voting; however, they are not Condorcet methods.

Ranked Choice Voting

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is a major improvement over Choose 1, but it is not good enough; 1% - 2% of RCV elections with over two candidates will have a spoiler. Sarah Palin, through no fault of her own, spoiled the chances of fellow Republican Nick Begich in a 2022 RCV congressional race.^[1] Begich was the Condorcet winner, and he had the widest support. Republicans do not trust RCV; Democrats will lose faith in RCV when they lose an important RCV election in a similar fashion.

Approval Voting

Approval voting has performed well in many settings. It rewards candidates who have broad support; creating a strong incentive to reach out to all voters and avoid divisive rhetoric. Approval is not as expressive as BTR-Score; it limits voters to either approving or rejecting each candidate. Approval elects the candidate with the widest support. It would be unusual for it not to elect a "beats all" winner. Approval Voting as a solid improvement over Choose 1 voting.

Score and STAR Voting

In a Score voting election, voters rate all the candidates; the candidate with the highest total score wins. Strategic voting can be a problem, and Score does not comply with most state constitutions. STAR (Score Then Automatic Runoff) voting has an automatic runoff between the two candidates with the highest scores. STAR complies with most state constitutions and is more resistant to strategic voting. Full article about Score & STAR.

BTR-Score for Denver & America

BTR-Score is fair, reliable and easy to use. It is immune to vote splitting and spoilers. Voters can express their opinion of every candidate. It resists strategic voting and complies with most state constitutions.

In August of last year, the Denver City Council fell one vote short of supporting a measure that would let Denver voters decide on using Ranked Choice Voting for city council elections. Our top goal is to get BTR-Score on the 2027 Denver ballot. BTR-Score is more than one vote better than RCV.

BTR-Score is a game changer for American democracy. Lord knows we need one. Yet few politicians know about BTR-Score. Please inform your elected representatives. Also, please share this critical page with your friends and on the web.