A majority-rule characterization with multiple extensions (Q1083991)

In a classical paper, May has shown that anonymity, neutrality, and positive responsiveness are necessary and sufficient for a binary majority rule and that these conditions are independent. When the voting options are extended beyond two, however, May's conditions are consistent only wih Borda and Black voting rules but not with a variety of other voting rules. The main contribution of this paper is to show that there is an alternative way of characterizing the binary majority rule in terms of properties that not only are considered as desirable for majority rule but permit a variety of multiple extensions. The author's conditions include May's anonymity and neurality conditions, but replace May's positive responsiveness condition with nonnegative responsiveness and resolvability conditions. The Tideman rule is shown to permit plurality, Borda, Black, Condorcet, and Dodgson rules as an extension of binary majority rule to decisions involving more than two options.