The Atrium is buzzing with chaos.
Volunteers thrust ballots into hands and shout directions.
"We're using a *plurality* system. You get one vote; only first place matters. Whoever gets the most wins!"
A projector flashes the results:
**Abigail**: 210
**Bailey**: 270
**Chris**: 150
**Damon**: 80
The hall explodes. (text-style: "rumble")[**Bailey wins**.]
Abigail supporters shout, "Split vote!"
Chris’s campaign denounces this as “a disastrous breakdown of representation.”
Do you do now?
[[Verify the count.]]
[[Leave the Atrium. ->Rooms]]
[[Reflect on plurality.]]
(set: $visitedPlurality to true)You enter the Student Center. Dim lights, strategy maps, and polling data are everywhere.
A student strategist greets you:
"Here, we're using *pairwise comparison*. Each candidate faces every other candidate head-to-head. No hiding."
Each voter decides all six match-ups when they rank the candidates.
Here's how many match-ups each candidate won
**Abigail**: 1280
**Bailey**: 810
**Chris**: 840
**Damon**: 1250
The result:
(text-style: "rumble")[**Abigail wins.**]
Cheers erupt.
Others whisper: “This system punishes polarizing candidates.”
Your move?
[[Verify the count.]]
[[Leave the Student Center. ->Rooms]]
[[Reflect on pairwise.]]
(set: $visitedPairwise to true)Bracken Library is intense — quiet, analytical, almost ominous.
Posters say:
"We're using a *Borda count*. Rank all candidates. Points decide everything."
First place is worth 4 points, second is worth 3, and so on.
Preferences pour in:
**Abigail**: 1990 points
**Bailey**: 1520 points
**Chris**: 1550 points
**Damon**: 2040 points
Whiteboards fill with equations and strategy debates.
When the points settle, (text-style: "rumble")[**Damon wins**.]
Gasps ripple through the room.
"This rewards broad support," someone mutters.
"Not passion."
What next?
[[Verify the count.]]
[[Leave Bracken Library.->Rooms]]
[[Reflect on Borda.]]
(set: $visitedBorda to true)
Pruis Hall is packed.
Lights dim. A banner hangs:
"*Plurality with Elimination* — Survive or Fall."
Round 1 results appear:
**Abigail**: 210
**Bailey**: 270
**Chris**: 150
**Damon**: 80
Damon is eliminated. His supporters, while frustrated, are excited that they get to reassign their vote.
[[Verify the count.]]
[[Go to round two. ->Round Two]]
(set: $visitedElimination to true)You step into the cool night air.
Four buildings.
Four counting systems.
Four winners.
Your phone buzzes with a campus-wide poll:
**"Which voting method should Ball State University use to decide the winner?"**
You smile. Now *you* know the real power behind the results.
THE END.
[[Return to Start|Start]]Plurality feels simple but brutal. Only first choices matter, and divided camps pay the price.
You leave the building wondering:
*Is the simplest system always the fairest?*
[[Leave the Atrium. ->Rooms]]The Borda Count favors compromise — but the point system is arbitrary.
First place gets double the amount of points as third...
Do all the voters really like their first place choice twice as much as their third?
*Does this kind of compromise make the election fairer?*
[[Leave Bracken Library.->Rooms]](if: ($visitedPlurality is true) and ($visitedBorda is true) and ($visitedPairwise is true) and ($visitedElimination is true))[
You’ve now visited all four voting systems.
The University Student Alliance sends you an urgent message…
[[Go to the Epilogue ->Epilogue]]
]
(else:)[
Next, you go to...
[[The Atrium -> Plurality]]
[[Bracken Library -> Borda Count]]
[[The Student Center -> Pairwise Comparison]]
[[Pruis Hall -> Elimination]]]
Elimination voting reshapes elections, rewarding those who can survive the early rounds.
*But is survival the same as legitimacy?*
[[Leave Pruis. ->Rooms]]Pairwise comparison feels like the truest test of preference.
*But does beating everyone head-to-head mean you're the people’s true choice?*
[[Leave the Student Center. ->Rooms]]
You arrive on campus only to discover something shocking: each building is using a different method to count the votes across campus. The winner depends on which counting method you use.
The stakes are high.
The campus is divided.
And you must choose which voting system to walk into.
[[The Atrium -> Plurality]]
[[Bracken Library -> Borda Count]]
[[The Student Center -> Pairwise Comparison]]
[[Pruis Hall -> Elimination]]
The next-ranked preferences are redistributed…
**Abigail**: 210
**Bailey**: 270
**Chris**: 230
Abigail is eliminated.
[[Verify the count.]]
[[Round Three]] is up next...
**Bailey**: 270
**Chris**: 440
Elimination reshuffles the outcome:
(text-style: "rumble")[**Chris wins.**]
Damon’s supporters hiss:
“If this were Borda, he’d be president.
If pairwise, Abigail.
But under elimination… Chris wins.”
Now what?
[[Verify the count.]]
[[Leave Pruis. ->Rooms]]
[[Reflect on plurality with elimination.]]Tonight, Ball State is electing the next *President of the University Student Alliance (USA)*. Four candidates are running:
**Abigail Anderson ** — polished and dangerously ambitious
**Bailey Bennet** — charismatic outsider promising to disrupt the system
**Chris Combs** — grassroots organizer with big ideals and bigger crowds
**Damon Dennis** — underdog with a broad appeal
The results are in. Now to figure out what they mean...
<style>
.table_component table {
border: 1px solid #dededf;
height: 100%;
width: 100%;
table-layout: fixed;
border-collapse: collapse;
border-spacing: 1px;
text-align: center;
}
.table_component th {
border: 1px solid #dededf;
background-color: #eceff1;
color: #000000;
padding: 5px;
}
.table_component td {
border: 1px solid #dededf;
background-color: #ffffff;
color: #000000;
padding: 5px;
}
</style>
<div class="table_component" role="region" tabindex="0">
<table>
<caption>
<p>Voting Results</p>
</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th><br></th>
<th>270</th>
<th>190</th>
<th>80</th>
<th>150</th>
<th>20</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1st</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>A</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2nd</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3rd</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>D</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4th</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>B</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
[[Got it. ->Arrival]]
(set: $visitedPlurality to false)
(set: $visitedBorda to false)
(set: $visitedPairwise to false)
(set: $visitedElimination to false)Use the table to verify the voting results.
<style>
.table_component table {
border: 1px solid #dededf;
height: 100%;
width: 100%;
table-layout: fixed;
border-collapse: collapse;
border-spacing: 1px;
text-align: center;
}
.table_component th {
border: 1px solid #dededf;
background-color: #eceff1;
color: #000000;
padding: 5px;
}
.table_component td {
border: 1px solid #dededf;
background-color: #ffffff;
color: #000000;
padding: 5px;
}
</style>
<div class="table_component" role="region" tabindex="0">
<table>
<caption>
<p>Voting Results</p>
</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th><br></th>
<th>270</th>
<th>190</th>
<th>80</th>
<th>150</th>
<th>20</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1st</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>A</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2nd</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3rd</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>D</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4th</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>B</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
(link-goto: "Back", (history:)'s last)