Allow poll creator to define method used

[RichiH]

I am running a poll with a lot of non-technical people and need to allow them to see the result.

When the poll is over in a month, people will be able to select various methods when I already know that I only want to allow Schulze.

Being able to confirm and limit which method to use before the votes are tallied would be nice.

[andrewcmyers]

You can write in the poll description that you will be using Schulze. One value of not hiding the other methods is that users can verify that the choice of method doesn't affect the results (which is usually the case).

[RichiH]

We had disussions after the fact even though there was a note that it would be Schulze. Would having a pre-defined default and selecting that be an acceptable middle ground?

[andrewcmyers]

Sounds reasonable. Though given that the default is Schulze, I'm not sure how the proposed feature would have helped you...

[RichiH]

By making it make explicit, e.g. only showing the chosen algo by default along with a "ths poll was set to follow X, but you can explore other options" or some such.

If you agree, I would appreciate reopening of the issue so it does not get lost.

[nealmcb]

People experimenting with voting methods love to be able to compare their effects on tabulations, so I understand the motivation for the current behavior.

But election administrators and voters want clear results. Thus, my colleagues and I strongly think administrators of non-test elections should be required to specify the official tally method unambiguously up-front. Not doing so is a recipe for discord and distrusting the results.

I think showing multiple options for the tally later by default is also just likely to invite confusion and should also be allowed only when an administrator opts-in with a clear understanding of the issues.