Quadratic Voting
A voting mechanism where the cost of additional votes increases quadratically, allowing for nuanced preference expression.
Pioneered by: E. Glen Weyl
How It Works
1. Each voter receives equal voice credits 2. Votes are purchased with credits at quadratic cost 3. n votes = n² credits 4. Voters allocate across multiple issues 5. Results tabulated based on total votes
Deep Dive
Quadratic Voting allows participants to express the intensity of their preferences, not just direction. Each voter has a budget of "voice credits" and can allocate them across options, with the cost of votes increasing quadratically. To cast 1 vote costs 1 credit. To cast 2 votes costs 4 credits (2²). To cast 3 votes costs 9 credits (3²). This makes it expensive to strongly influence any single decision while allowing nuanced preference expression.
Advantages
- Allows preference intensity expression
- More nuanced than 1-person-1-vote
- Mathematically robust
- Prevents tyranny of the majority
- Efficient collective decision making
Limitations
- Complex to explain
- Credit allocation is challenging
- Can still be gamed with money
- Requires trust in credit distribution
- User experience challenges
Best Used For
- Budget allocation
- Multi-issue voting
- Governance decisions
- Prioritization exercises
Tags
Last updated: 10/1/2024