Beyond Anonymity: Exploring Real-World Implications of Transitive Anonymity in Voting Systems

Gendler (2024) introduces the concept of "transitive anonymity," showing that relaxing full anonymity (so only constituency-level anonymity is preserved) can yield non-Borda outcomes that are nonetheless close to Borda—especially when voter counts aren’t multiples of three. This idea proposes a systematic exploration, both theoretical and empirical, of how real-world electoral structures (districts, blocs, federations) that only satisfy transitive anonymity affect the vulnerability of voting systems to strategic manipulation, minority underrepresentation, and anomalies like Condorcet cycles or majority failures. The novelty lies in bridging the gap between the idealized assumptions of much social choice theory and the actual institutional designs of large democracies, potentially informing the design of fairer aggregation rules for federated or multi-district elections.

References:

1. Condorcet cycle elections with influential voting blocs. Gabriel Gendler (2024).
2. Condorcet cycle elections with influential voting blocs. Gabriel Gendler (2024).
3. Condorcet cycle elections with influential voting blocs. Gabriel Gendler (2024).