Cumulative voting

Thus, cumulative voting generally produces similar results to SNTV (especially if voters are informed and rational, in which case they will tend to engage in plumping.

]A form of cumulative voting has been used by group facilitators as a method to collectively prioritize options, for example ideas generated from a brainstorming session within a workshop.

This approach is described as "multi-voting" and was likely derived from the nominal group technique and is one of many tools suggested within the Six Sigma business management strategy.

When voters in the minority concentrate their votes in this way for just one candidate, it increases their chances of obtaining representation in a legislative body.

Possibly the simplest ballot is called satisfaction approval voting or the equal-and-even method.

Voters are unable to specify a differing level of support for a more preferred candidate, giving them less flexibility but simplifying ballot completion.

Dot-voting is now widely used for making quick collaborative decisions by teams adopting agile and lean methodologies.

Then, the scores on the ballot are divided by the total number of points the voter has assigned, to make sure the allocation adds up to 100%.

Advocates of cumulative voting often argue that political and racial minorities deserve better representation.

In a corporate setting, challengers of cumulative voting argue that the board of directors gets divided and this hurts the company's long term profit.

Using a staggered board of directors can diminish the ability of minority factions to obtain representation by reducing the number of seats up for election at any given time.

Some Bugzilla installations allow the use of cumulative voting to decide which software bugs most urgently need correcting.

[22] The formula to determine the number of votes needed to elect one seat is called the Droop quota and has value: