A made-up three-candidate plurality contest: evidence account
In plain words
The count under Minimax elected Ames because Ames has the smallest worst pairwise defeat (margins).
No audit ran.
No container custody was supplied.
Outcome status: preliminary. Software tallies stay preliminary until an audit on the record confirms them or a full hand count of the record replaces them.
The contest
Title: A made-up three-candidate plurality contest
Candidates: Ames, Baird, Cortez.
Records in this count: 1,000.
Ballot file: plurality-3
Source: Invented for this package. No real election.
Ames has 450 first choices (45%), Baird has 350 (35%), Cortez has 200 (20%).
Nobody has a majority, but Ames has a plurality. Used to test BRAVO ballot polling.
Where the records sat:
One stack of 1,000 records. There is no ballot manifest of sealed containers.
No container custody was supplied.
What was configured
Configuration version: plurality-3-plurality-v1-under-minimax.
Configuration fingerprint (SHA-256): 9cfe5d8fe6997e9ffb45d328f61fe73ebbccec6e20d89887397d461ee64b1991.
Counting rule: Minimax.
Ballot rules used: Two or more marks at one rank end the ballot there; 2 ranks in a row left blank end the ballot; a candidate marked again lower down counts as a rank left blank.
Ballot file: plurality-3. A third party with this file can rerun the count.
Audit: none. No seed was used.
Configured audit risk limit: 10%.
Plain-language configuration (check against statute intent):
Configuration version: plurality-3-plurality-v1-under-minimax
Fingerprint (SHA-256): 9cfe5d8fe6997e9ffb45d328f61fe73ebbccec6e20d89887397d461ee64b1991
Election: A made-up three-candidate plurality contest, counted under Minimax
A demonstration configuration over committed fixture records, counting the same ballots under another rule. No audit ran under it, and no real election was counted under it.
Contests and candidates:
A made-up three-candidate plurality contest (plurality-3): Ames; Baird; Cortez.
Counting rule: Minimax.
Tiebreak: not used under this counting rule.
Ballot rules (how marks become a ranking):
Two or more marks at one rank: the ballot counts up to that rank and no further.
A candidate marked again lower down: that rank counts as a rank left blank.
2 ranks in a row left blank: the ballot counts up to there and no further.
A mark for anyone not on the ballot: a mark, so the rank is not blank, but never a vote.
Audit risk limit: 10%. A risk-limiting audit that runs under this configuration stops when the sample confirms the outcome at that limit, or sends the contest to a full hand count.
How a ballot is counted and how an audit stops are fixed by this version. Changing any of the lines above requires a new version id.
The count
What follows is the counting account under Minimax, including every intermediate step.
What was counted
Ballots in this count: 1,000.
Ballots from: Invented for this package. No real election.
Ames has 450 first choices (45%), Baird has 350 (35%), Cortez has 200 (20%).
Nobody has a majority, but Ames has a plurality. Used to test BRAVO ballot polling.
How the marks on a ballot were read:
Two or more marks at one rank: the ballot counts up to that rank and no further.
A candidate marked again lower down: that rank counts as a rank left blank.
2 ranks in a row left blank: the ballot counts up to there and no further.
A mark for anyone not on the ballot: a mark, so the rank is not blank, but never a vote.
The rankings the ballots form, and how many ballots form each. A candidate a ranking does not name is ranked last on those ballots.
| Ranking | Ballots |
|---|---|
| Ames > Baird > Cortez | 450 |
| Baird > Ames > Cortez | 350 |
| Cortez > Ames > Baird | 200 |
Head to head
Every candidate is set against every other. A ballot counts in a matchup when it ranks one of the two above the other. A candidate a ballot never ranks is ranked last on that ballot, tied with every other candidate it never ranks, so such a ballot has no preference between them.
| Matchup | Votes | Against | Votes | No preference | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ames | 650 | Baird | 350 | 0 | Ames |
| Ames | 800 | Cortez | 200 | 0 | Ames |
| Baird | 800 | Cortez | 200 | 0 | Baird |
Minimax (margins)
For each candidate, find the largest margin by which any opponent beats them (a negative number means they never lose, and the figure is their weakest win).
The score is that number with the sign flipped: higher is better.
| Candidate | Score (minus worst defeat) |
|---|---|
| Ames | 300 |
| Baird | -300 |
| Cortez | -600 |
Outcome
Minimax scores: Ames 300; Baird -300; Cortez -600.
Ames is elected under Minimax: among all candidates, Ames has the smallest worst pairwise defeat (margins).
Records with no mark, by contest and by machine
At the close of polls, the share of records with no mark in each contest, by contest and by machine. Leaving a contest blank is a voter's right; an outlier below is a question about the ballot or the machine, not a verdict.
| Contest | Records | With no mark | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| plurality-3 | 1,000 | 0 | 0.00% |
The audit
No audit ran.
What was found
No audit ran, so there are no sample findings.
Custody: none supplied. No container custody chain was recorded or verified.
Why it stopped
Decision: no audit.
No audit ran.
Outcome status: preliminary. Software tallies stay preliminary until an audit on the record confirms them or a full hand count of the record replaces them.