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VoteFair Ranking Results calculated at  www.VoteFair.org 2007-May-16  19:50

Poll title:

     American Idol Season 6 Poll, Top 3    

Question (number 1) title:

     Who is your favorite, second-favorite, etc., American Idol singer?    

The most preferred and most representative choice is:

    Melinda Doolittle

Overall popularity ranking:

     
Popularity Choice VoteFair
ranking
score
Traditional
vote count

(for comparison)
First-most popular Melinda Doolittle  Ranking score is 55 for Melinda Doolittle 282 voters marked Melinda Doolittle as their first choice
Second-most popular Jordin Sparks  Ranking score is 30 for Jordin Sparks 244 voters marked Jordin Sparks as their first choice
Third-most popular Blake Lewis  Ranking score is 0 for Blake Lewis 169 voters marked Blake Lewis as their first choice

VoteFair representation Ranking

  

First-most representative choice is:

Melinda Doolittle

Second-most representative choice is:

Jordin Sparks

Third-most representative choice is:

Blake Lewis

VoteFair representation ranking results should be used when more than one choice is to be selected. Why? When there are 100 voters, 51 of them can choose the first winner, so the other 49 voters deserve extra influence in choosing the second winner (instead of letting the 51 voters also choose the second winner). When should representation results be used? When a second candidate is elected to a second equivalent seat in a state legislature, or when an organization pursues a simultaneous second activity in addition to the most popular activity.

Comparison of VoteFair Ranking with other voting methods

  
Voting method Winner
VoteFair Melinda Doolittle
Instant runoff Melinda Doolittle
(17 ballots at least partially ignored because they include an equal preference at a significant step in the runoff process.
(Choice eliminated in the first round : Blake Lewis)
Majority None of the choices has won a majority (more than half) the votes.

(1 ballot ignored because it ranks more than one choice as the most-preferred choice. )
Plurality Melinda Doolittle

(1 ballot ignored because it ranks more than one choice as the most-preferred choice. )
Condorcet Melinda Doolittle
Borda count Tie between:
    Jordin Sparks
    Melinda Doolittle
(37 ballots ignored because they rank more than one choice at the same preference level. )

Details of plurality results

  
Choice Vote count Percentage
Melinda Doolittle 282 41 282 voters marked Melinda Doolittle as their first choice
Jordin Sparks 244 35 244 voters marked Jordin Sparks as their first choice
Blake Lewis 169 24 169 voters marked Blake Lewis as their first choice
(1 ballot ignored in plurality counting because it ranks more than one choice as the most-preferred choice. )

Notice that the choice with the most plurality votes is not necessarily the most popular. Similarly the choice with the fewest plurality votes is not necessarily the least popular.

Data and Calculation Summary
Number of votes: 696
The following tally table summarizes all the preferences of all the voters. The bold underlined numbers are the ones that apply to the winning sequence.
  
All possible pairs of choice names Number of votes with indicated preference
Prefer X over Y Equal preference Prefer Y over X
X = Melinda Doolittle
Y = Jordin Sparks
343
343 voters prefer Melinda Doolittle over Jordin Sparks
17
17 voters have an equal preference for Melinda Doolittle over Jordin Sparks
336
336 voters prefer Jordin Sparks over Melinda Doolittle
X = Melinda Doolittle
Y = Blake Lewis
426
426 voters prefer Melinda Doolittle over Blake Lewis
4
4 voters have an equal preference for Melinda Doolittle and Blake Lewis
266
266 voters prefer Blake Lewis over Melinda Doolittle
X = Jordin Sparks
Y = Blake Lewis
412
412 voters prefer Jordin Sparks over Blake Lewis
16
16 voters have an equal preference for Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis
268
268 voters prefer Blake Lewis over Jordin Sparks
The highest score (which equals the sum of the bold underlined numbers, plus either tally number in any tied pair of choices) is: 1,181
Number of all possible valid sequences (without ties): 6
First sequence:
  1. Jordin Sparks
  2. Melinda Doolittle
  3. Blake Lewis
Last sequence:
  1. Blake Lewis
  2. Melinda Doolittle
  3. Jordin Sparks
© Copyright 2007 Solutions Through Innovation at www.VoteFair.org

Detailed ballot information
(The numbers indicate the choices
as listed in "First sequence" above,
a comma indicates the next lower preference level,
"&" joins choices at the same preference level,
and "x" precedes the vote count.)

  • 1&3,2 x1
  • 1,2&3 x4
  • 1,2,3 x144
  • 1,3,2 x96
  • 2,1&3 x15
  • 2,1,3 x168
  • 2,3,1 x99
  • 3,1&2 x17
  • 3,1,2 x91
  • 3,2,1 x61

© Copyright 2007 Solutions Through Innovation at www.VoteFair.org

Software version: 2007-Apr-23

The free VoteFair ranking service is subsidized by sales of Ending The Hidden Unfairness In U.S. Elections and The Creative Problem Solver's Toolbox, which were written by Richard Fobes, the inventor of VoteFair ranking and the programmer and writer for the VoteFair site.

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