Star Voting
Loading...DEVELOPED BY MARK FROHNMAYER AND THE EQUAL VOTE COALITION
STAR Voting functions as a governance mechanism by reflecting voter preferences through a scoring and runoff process, ensuring fair and representative decision-making.
Created in 2014 by Mark Frohnmayer, STAR Voting aims to enhance electoral systems. It can be integrated into DAOs for decision-making and funding distribution. This helps ensure all voter preferences are accounted for in both phases.
This governance mechanism is ideal for DAOs managing elections with multiple candidates or proposals. It minimizes vote-splitting and increases voter satisfaction through nuanced preference expression, often resulting in broadly supported winners. It is also helpful for communities looking to enhance trust and participation.
STAR Voting is a system where voters score each candidate on a scale from 0 to 5 stars. The two highest-scoring candidates proceed to an automatic runoff, in which the candidate preferred by more voters wins. It is simple, expressive, and designed to reflect the will of the majority without the complications of Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV).
Under the STAR system, voters give their favorite candidate five stars and can leave their least favorite blank or assign zero stars. They can rate the remaining candidates between 1 and 4 stars according to their preference and can give equal ratings to multiple candidates.
Next, the counting process begins and follows theScore Then Automatic Runoff (STAR) method. In this phase, the two highest-scoring candidates move on as finalists. Each voter’s ballot then reflects their preferences, with their vote automatically assigned to their preferred finalist. The finalist with the most votes is ultimately declared the winner.
The system is designed to provide a clear and decisive outcome, similar to traditional runoff elections
STAR Voting ensures that each voter’s preferences are equally considered, resulting in outcomes that reflect broad support.
It combines the expressiveness of score voting with the decisiveness of runoff while avoiding the complexity typically associated with ranked-choice voting systems.