This paper examines a method of quantifying voter preferences and behavior using a two-stage multivoting (2SMV) model. The 2SMV model gives voters an endowment of additional votes exceeding the number of policies under consideration in a direct democracy-style election. Voters may freely allocate this endowment to any of the policies up for election. Using the 2SMV mechanism, the paper provides a methodology for identifying voter preferences and voting behavior within a staged multivoting system. From this methodology, three types of voting behavior are defined: policy indifference, strictly-dominating preferences, and fixed-weight preferences. Using experimental data collected from college students, the study evaluates the performance of the two-stage multivoting system in the context of the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primaries, compared to the traditional “one-person, one-vote” (1P1V) system. Using the full sample of observations, the 1P1V system resulted in a tie between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, while the 2SMV system selected Joe Biden over Bernie Sanders as the nominee by a 206 net vote difference. The study finds that the 2SMV system produces more unique and distant ranks between candidates, reducing the prevalence of ties common within the 1P1V system.

本文研究了一种使用两阶段多投票 (2SMV) 模型量化选民偏好和行为的方法。2SMV 模型为选民提供了超过直接民主式选举中正在考虑的政策数量的额外选票。选民可以自由地将此捐赠分配给任何待选举的政策。使用 2SMV 机制，本文提供了一种在分阶段多投票系统中识别选民偏好和投票行为的方法。根据这种方法，定义了三种类型的投票行为：政策无差异、严格支配偏好和固定权重偏好。该研究使用从大学生那里收集的实验数据，评估了两阶段多投票系统在 2020 年民主党总统初选背景下的表现，与传统的“一人一票”（1P1V）制度相比。使用完整的观察样本，1P1V 系统导致乔拜登和伯尼桑德斯之间的平局，而 2SMV 系统选择乔拜登而不是伯尼桑德斯作为候选人，净投票数相差 206 票。研究发现，2SMV 系统在候选人之间产生更多独特和遥远的等级，降低了 1P1V 系统中常见关系的普遍性。