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{{Short description|Electoral system with lottery among ballots}} {{Electoral systems}} A '''random ballot''' or '''random dictatorship''' is a [[Fractional social choice|randomized electoral system]] where the election is decided on the basis of a single randomly-selected ballot.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sewell|first1=Roger|last2=MacKay|first2=David|last3=McLean|first3=Iain|date=January 2009|title=Probabilistic electoral methods, representative probability, and maximum entropy|url=http://www.inference.org.uk/mackay/vote/abstract.html|journal=Voting Matters|volume=26|pages=22|quote=A voter is picked at random and the output ordering of the election is set to be the ordering given by that voter.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zeckhauser|first=Richard|date=1973|title=Voting Systems, Honest Preferences and Pareto Optimality|journal=American Political Science Review|language=en|volume=67|issue=3|pages=938β940|doi=10.2307/1958635|issn=0003-0554|jstor=1958635|s2cid=147293110 |quote=Each individual writes the name of a candidate on a ballot. The voters' ballots are collected and placed in a revolving drum. After shuffling, a ballot is chosen at random. The name on the chosen ballot is the elected candidate.}}</ref> A closely-related variant is called '''random serial''' (or '''sequential''') '''dictatorship''', which repeats the procedure and draws another ballot if multiple candidates are tied on the first ballot. Random dictatorship was first described in 1977 by [[Allan Gibbard]], who showed it to be the unique social choice rule that [[Anonymity (social choice)|treats all voters equally]] while still being [[strategyproof]] in all situations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gibbard|first=Allan|date=1973|title=Manipulation of Voting Schemes: A General Result|journal=Econometrica|volume=41|issue=4|pages=592β593|doi=10.2307/1914083|issn=0012-9682|jstor=1914083|s2cid=17069971 |quote=In other words, each voter writes his first choice on a ballot; a single ballot is drawn at random; and the choice on that ballot is selected.}}</ref> Its application to elections was first described in 1984 by [[Akhil Reed Amar]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Akhil Reed Amar |date=June 1984 |title=Choosing representatives by lottery voting |volume=93 |issue=7 |journal=[[Yale Law Journal]] |pages=1283β1308 |url=http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/1984Choosing.pdf |jstor=796258 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831192620/http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/1984Choosing.pdf |archive-date=2006-08-31 |author-link=Akhil Reed Amar |doi=10.2307/796258 }}</ref> The rule is rarely, if ever, proposed as a genuine electoral system, as such a method (in [[Allan Gibbard|Gibbard]]'s words) "leaves too much to chance".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gibbard |first=Allan |date=1973 |title=Manipulation of Voting Schemes: A General Result |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1914083 |journal=Econometrica |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=587β601 |doi=10.2307/1914083 |jstor=1914083 |issn=0012-9682|url-access=subscription }}</ref> However, the rule is often used as a tiebreaker to encourage voters to cast honest ballots, and is sometimes discussed as a [[thought experiment]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Akhil Reed Amar |author-link=Akhil Reed Amar |date=1 January 1995 |title=Lottery Voting: A Thought Experiment |url=http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1963&context=fss_papers}}</ref>
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