Going twice to the polls?: Optimality of two-stage voting procedures

A Masters Thesis, presented as part of the requirements for the award of a Research Masters Degree in Economics from NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Two-stage voting systems are commonly used, not only in political elections but in many other types of contests such as the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) awards. These methods are nonetheless more costly than single-stage ones. In this paper we will compare the performance of di¤erent one-stage and two-stage voting systems. In particular, we will analyse the impact of the introduction of a second stage in the ability of electing the Condorcet winner and rejecting the Condorcet loser. Through simulation, we will conclude that under two-stage systems with only two nominees in the second stage, the likelihood of respecting the Condorcet criteria increases signi cantly. However, with three nominees in the second stage, results are ambiguous, depending on the degree of homogeneity of preferences.