Vote Sizing

Vote Sizing is a term used to describe a weighted voting system intended to conduct limited social engineering within any system (political, economic, academic, rehabilitative, competitive, virtual, et al) where voting can take place. The difference between the current way of voting and voting with vote sizing is that with vote sizing the sizes of the individual votes are adjusted in accordance to certain criteria specific to each voter--such as grades, income, wages, I.Q., tax contribution, sentence, score, etc.
A kind of implicit vote sizing is inherent in many political elections, because of the way districting and preliminary decisions are implemented; citizens living in certain locations have more say over the final outcome than citizens living in other areas. It is proposed that explicit vote sizing could be applied to restore a balance of power.
Vote sizing is based on the way individual votes are sized, not counted. Vote sizing methods and vote counting methods run concurrently. Vote sizing is applicable to either single-winner or multiple-winner contests, and to either the selection of a person for office or to the determination of a policy decision. The concept was originally defined by Steve Glickman who remains its most vocal champion.
Rule-Based System
Different rules can be defined for determining the weight of votes. On Glickman’s VoteSizing.org site there are examples showing the effect of different rules on election results, when those rules are applied to the same raw data. The choice of the appropriate rule for a given situation is of paramount importance; the wrong rule could actually make the final result less equitable than the one-person-one-vote system it is trying to correct.Further, as shown in Costinot and Kartik's work at the University of California, San Diego, knowledge of the rule may also affect the outcome. The potential for abuse is a clear flaw in an otherwise promising system.
Methodology
In essence, there are three basic methodologies which can be propelled by vote sizing:
The most common is a responsibility-based formulation of vote weights, so that the best decision-makers get the largest say. This would be done by allocating a larger, or more weighted, vote to those with higher IQs, education levels, contributions, professions, incomes, etc.
The second methodology is a need-based formulation of the wights, so that the more decision-making influence is given to those who need to have the outcome in their favor--which would be the poorer, less successful voters.
Lastly, there is the random, or divine, vote sizing, method, in larger voting power is allocated to chance or unpredictable signs.
Argument for Need Based Rule
The unique part of Glickman's concept is the need-based method just described.He proposes this rule as a way to ballast the typical concentration of wealth and power in the same individuals and sectors of society. Glickman in fact defines corruption as that concentration of wealth and power, and states that our overarching goal as a species to separate them.
Glickman came up with the vote sizing concept over 20 years ago as a philosophy student at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. His perception was that the “one-person one-vote” electoral system was being used to actually detract from the principles of fair representation. He has pursued the idea ever since, both in his writing on the Internet and on the radio, picking up some followers along the way.
Global Support
Julius Awafong is one such disciple. He’s starting a political party in Cameroon, with vote sizing as a central tenet. The manifesto of the Fair Choice Party demonstrates Awafong’s commitment to the cause. There has been considerable media coverage in Cameroon and elsewhere.
Glickman also has vote sizing supporters in Colombia. A tour in April 2008 generated media and public interest. With Douglas Batista Glickman founded Instituto para el Voto Calibrado in Cartagena and plans to open an Empowerment Inc. business there.
Mathematical Basis
Vote Sizing incorporates more than philosophy; there are extensive roots in areas including economics, political science, and mathematics. Game theory has been used to analyze voting systems since the 1940s or earlier but the specific area of applied mathematics that is termed voting theory has exploded since 1980.

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