Question

In the borda count voting system, each voter ranks the possible outcomes, giving 1 point to the last-place outcome, 2 points to second to last, etc. The outcome that receives the most total points wins. Suppose when outcomes x, y, and z are available, outcome y is the winner according to a borda count voting system. However, when outcome z is no longer possible, which outcome becomes the winner according to a borda count voting system?

1) Outcome x
2) Outcome y
3) Outcome z
4) Cannot be determined

Answer 1

The outcome that would win if z is removed in a Borda count voting system cannot be determined without additional information about the voters' preferences.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the context of the Borda count voting system, when there are three outcomes x, y, and z, and y wins, the question asks what happens when outcome z is no longer possible. The answer cannot be determined without additional information. The reason is that the Borda count is based on the summation of rankings from all the voters. Without knowing the preferences of the voters for outcomes x, y, and z, we cannot ascertain which of x or y would win if z were removed. This is because the removal of an option can drastically change the rankings, and therefore points are awarded to the remaining options, possibly leading to a different winner.