Your 2016 presidential ballot under STV

[IceAgeComing]

In a two party system like America you shouldn't need to tactically order your preferences since it'll usually flow to which one of the big two you have higher in your preference order anyway or exhaust if you preference neither.  Tactical voting with AV (since it can't be STV since its a single member race) really only becomes important when you have three or more candidates challenging to get into the final round and there tactical voting is complicated: and it generally involves game theory rubbish like actually voting tactically for a candidate that you really don't want to win because you gamble that your candidate will get to the final round without you and that you'd rather that they face the person that you are voting for since the preference flow would be better for the person that you want to won.  What you gain from preferencing a candidate that isn't going to win first is a few things: you signal that you want them to win but because you have preferences it isn't a spoiler vote, plus that candidate might benefit from your first preference vote in other areas (in the UK its a vote towards letting them get their deposit back, in the US it might be a vote towards guaranteeing that party ballot access in the future or towards federal funding in future elections).

I'd probably not preference everyone since there's no point once you've put one of Clinton or Trump down except in one case.  I'd probably check to see if there isn't a non-whackjob left party on the ballot and put them first, then Clinton and then not number any more: in Utah I'd also preference McMullin as an anti-Trump thing.

[Catholics vs. Convicts]

1. Clinton

2. McMullin
3. Johnson


4a. Stein
4b. Castle



6. Trump

[Fitzgerald]

1. Clinton
2. McMullin
3. de la Fuente
4. The sweet, sweet release of death

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Maturen*
Kotlikoff*
Johnson
McMullin
Castle
Smith*
Stein
Clinton
Trump

(*VA write-in candidates. There are others but I don't know anything about them.)

[LLR]

Just going by the major 7 candidates

1. Clinton
2. McMullin
3. de la Fuente
4. Johnson
5. Castle
6. Stein
7. Trump

[Leinad]

1. Johnson
2. McMullin
3. screw those other candidates

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

1. moorehead
2. la riva
3. kennedy
4. stein
5. clinton
6. de la fuente
7. kotlikoff
8. mcmuffin
9. johnson
10. maturen
11. castle
12. hoefling
13. trump

[Goldwater]

[1] Johnson
[2] McMullin
[3] Clinton
[4] Castle
[5] Trump
[6] Stein

Or, using just those that are on the ballot in California:

[1] Johnson
[2] Clinton
[3] Trump
[4] Stein
[5] La Riva

[100% pro-life no matter what]

On the Tennessee ballot:

1. Smith
2. Trump (real life vote)
3. Johnson
4. De La Fuente
5. Clinton
6. Stein
7. Kennedy

Unless voting Trump 1 and Clinton 7 strategically helped ensure that Clinton wouldn't win.  I'm not an expert in STV strategic voting strategies.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

On the Tennessee ballot:

1. Smith
2. Trump (real life vote)
3. Johnson
4. De La Fuente
5. Clinton
6. Stein
7. Kennedy

Unless voting Trump 1 and Clinton 7 strategically helped ensure that Clinton wouldn't win.  I'm not an expert in STV strategic voting strategies.

No, strategic voting is useless in STV. As long as more people listed Trump as their first choice than those who listed Smith as their first choice (which would obviously be the case), your vote still gets to Trump.

[IceAgeComing]

No, strategic voting is useless in STV. As long as more people listed Trump as their first choice than those who listed Smith as their first choice (which would obviously be the case), your vote still gets to Trump.

In a two-candidate race this is true; if a third candidate emerged in this fictional situation then there are tactical voting strategies that you can use to try and help your candidate to win - although some of them involve voting for a candidate that you really don't want to win but if they met your candidate in the final round of a close race it'd make it more likely that you're candidate would win since they'd get less preferences than the alternative.  The sort of thing that's really hard to organise though...