* * * * *
The Institute is named after Jean-Charles de Borda, and hence the well-known voting procedure, the Borda Count BC; but Jean-Charles actually invented what is now called the Modified Borda Count, MBC - the difference is subtle:
In a vote on n options, the voter may cast m preferences; and, of course, m < n.
In a BC, points are awarded to (1st, 2nd ... last) preferences cast according to the rule (n, n-1 ... 1) {or (n-1, n-2 ... 0)} whereas,
in an MBC, points are awarded to (1st, 2nd ... last) preferences cast according to the rule (m, m-1 ... 1).
The difference can be huge, especially when the topic is controversial: the BC benefits those who cast only a 1st preference; the MBC encourages the consensual, those who submit not only a 1st preference but also their 2nd (and subsequent) compromise option(s). And if (nearly) every voter states their compromise option(s), an MBC can identify the collective compromise.
_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-
DECISION-MAKER
Inclusive voting app
https://debordavote.com
THE APP TO BEAT ALL APPS, APPSOLUTELY!
(The latest in a long-line of electronic voting for decision-making; our first was in 1991.)
_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-
FINANCES
The Institute was estabished in 1997 with a cash grant of £3,000 from the Joseph Rowntree Charitabe Trust, and has received the occasional sum from Northern Ireland's Community Relations Council and others. Today it relies on voluntary donations and the voluntary work of its board, while most running expenses are paid by the director.
_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-
A BLOG
"De Borda abroad." From Belfast to Beijing and beyond... and back. Starting in Vienna with the Sept 2017 TEDx talk, I give lectures in Belgrade, Sarajevo, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Tehran, Beijing, Tianjin, Xuzhou, Hong Kong and Taiwan... but not in Pyongyang. Then back via Mongolia (where I had been an election observer in June 2017) and Moscow (where I'd worked in the '80s).
I have my little fold-up Brompton with me - surely the best way of exploring any new city! So I prefer to go by train, boat or bus, and then cycle wherever in each new venue; and all with just one plastic water bottle... or that was the intention!
In Sept 2019, I set off again, to promote the book of the journey. After the ninth book launch in Taipei University, I went to stay with friends in a little village in Gansu for the Chinese New Year. The rat. Then came the virus, lockdown... and I was stuck.
_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-
|
The Hospital for Incurable Protestants The Mémoire of a Collapsed Catholic This is the story of a pacifist in a conflict zone, in Northern Ireland and the Balkans. Only in e-format, but only £5.15. Available from Amazon. |
The director alongside the statue of Jean-Charles de Borda, capitaine et savant, in l’École Navale in Brest, 24.9.2010. Photo by Gwenaelle Bichelot.
Here's the YouTube, the PowerPoint, and the text of the speech (more or less).
Sunday, April 29, 2018 Saturday, April 14, 2018 Four lectures in four universities, all with the same message: two-option referendums are usually divisive, often inaccurate, and sometimes a cause of war. If but for the sake of Xinjiang, any polls in Hong Kong or Taiwan should not be binary.
Thursday, February 15, 2018 
One of our patrons, John was only fantastic. He was one of the few in NI who managed to build friendships based on trust from both sides of Northern Ireland's sectarian divide. Indeed, it was he who was largely responsible for the success of the New Ireland Group, an NGO which he founded in 1982 and which so often managed to bring together persons from all walks of life, not least the politicians from across the dreadful divide.
Sunday, February 11, 2018 In 2016, Ireland and Spain both broke their national records for time spent by a newly elected parliament to form its government: 70 days and 303. In 2017, the Netherlands did the same, 225. And now, in 2018, Germany does it as well, 161 days. Surely the lesson of Weimar is that majority rule is no good. Better an all-party coalition. That is, never let extremist parties get more power than their proportional due, like the Nazis in 1933 Germany, the Jewish Home in 2015 Israel, the DUP in 2016 UK, and the FPÖ in 2017 Austria. Just give them, including AfD (Alternative für Deutschland), their fair share. And then work in consensus. Extremists will soon tire. Others, like Sinn Féin, may well soften up.
Here's the latest graph showing various parliaments and the days they've taken to form their governments.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018 They've done it: the Citizens voted in favour of multi-option voting! Albeit in a majority vote. Ah well, can't be perfect. And albeit with another majority vote - STV or FPTP? - to recommend how should such multi-option ballots be analysed. This second question could have been multi-optional; but no; another dichotomy; this is probably a diehard reaction from the 'experts' to (try to) show that binary ballots are still acceptable.
To what extent the vote on multi-option voting was a result of our persuasion/persistence, we will probably never know. Never mind. It's happened. Here's our submission. See 2017-12, 2017-11 and 2016-14.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018 Complex questions should not be reduced to simplistic dichotomies. Hence openDemocracy's latest: https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/peter-emerson/second-referendum-on-deal-with-eu-multi-option-poll
See 2017-14.
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 
Professor Emerita Elizabeth Meehan, RIP.
One of our first patrons, Elizabeth passed away on 6th January. She will be remembered not only as a stalwart supporter of all our 'de Borda' endeavours, but also as a lovely person and a very good friend.
Saturday, December 16, 2017 The extremist FPÖ is now in government. Only because Austians (like so many others) use majority voting and believe in majority rule... the cause of so much bitterness and bloodshed. Germany also believes, and is in a state of impasse, while the Czech Republic has settled - if that's the right word - for a minority administration. Because they believe in majority rule? See 2017-13.
Saturday, December 16, 2017 The US Senate is now down to a majority of just one. Meanwhile, in the UK, the 'rebels' defy the whips and Brexit will be softer. But do terms like 'rebel' and 'whip' really belong to a democracy?
