How can we specify an election method? Assume that each voter has a preference ranking of the candidates (an ordering from first choice to second choice to last choice). Based on these rankings, how can we characterize what an election method does? (Think of different types of elections: political office; ranking movies, academy awards; ranking football teams (or soccer teams, etc), a department choosing a textbook for introductory computer science.)
Once we have a specification of what an election method is, then what properties should a good election method have? (Or what bad properties should it not have) Can you express any property precisely? .
Note: there are no right or wrong answers here, just different properties that may be desired. Can you state a property precisely?.
Here is a precise definition of an election method.