Q.Hold mock class elections 3 ways (1 vote each; 4 votes splittable; preference ranking/RS-style counting). Did same 4 win each way? Why/why not?

Different counting rules aggregate the same preferences differently, so they don't have to produce the same four winners. …

This activity is meant to demonstrate, in a small classroom setting, exactly the same phenomenon the chapter illustrates nationally with the 1984 Lok Sabha result: the rules by which votes are counted can change who wins, even when the underlying voter preferences stay exactly the same.

Method 1 (one vote each, top four win): This is closest to a simple FPTP-style count. It rewards candidates who are the single, clear top choice of the largest number of voters, and tends to favour broadly, mildly popular candidates over candidates who are intensely preferred by a smaller group.

Method 2 (four splittable votes per voter): This lets a voter concentrate all four votes on one favoured candidate ("plumping") instead of spreading support across four different people. This can help a candidate with a smaller but very devoted base of support win a spot, even if they would not have been many voters' single top pick under Method 1 — because their supporters can pool all their voting power behind them.

Method 3 (preference ranking, RS-style/STV counting): This rewards candidates who are broadly acceptable — even if not everyone's first choice — because lower-preference votes get transferred to help a candidate reach the quota once weaker candidates are eliminated. A candidate who is many people's second or third choice, but few people's first choice, can still win under this method, in a way they likely would not under Method 1. …