Range voting

Range voting is a voting method for single-seat elections, in which voters give each candidate a score, the scores are added or averaged, and the candidate with the highest total is elected. It has been described by various other names including the point system, ratings summation, 0-99 voting, average voting; cardinal, score and utility voting.

A form of range voting was apparently used in some elections in Ancient Sparta by measuring how loudly the crowd shouted for different candidates; rough modern-day equivalents include the use of clapometers in some television shows and the judging processes of some athletic competitions. Approval voting can be considered to be range voting with only two levels: approved (1) and disapproved (0).

Voting system

Range voting uses a ratings ballot; that is, each voter rates each candidate with a number within a specified range, such as 0 to 99 or 1 to 5. All candidates should be rated, unlike cumulative voting where voters are not permitted to provide scores for more than some number of candidates. The scores for each candidate are summed, and the candidate with the highest sum is the winner. If voters are explicitly allowed to abstain from rating certain candidates, as opposed to implicitly giving the lowest number of points to unrated candidates, then a candidate's score would be the average rating from voters who did rate this candidate.