Project description
Fast algorithms for multi-winner voting
Computational social choice (COMSOC) lies at the junction of social choice theory, computer science and economics. Since the effectiveness of a particular voting system is restricted if calculation of the winner of an election requires a long time, computational social choice is concerned with the efficient computation of results of voting rules. The EU-funded PRAGMA project will study multi-winner elections to provide a proper structure for multi-winner voting applications in a wide range of real-life cases. The project will design new, fast algorithms for computing the results of multi-winner voting rules and new languages of specifying preferences, achieving an algorithmic and mathematical understanding of preference data, and provide algorithms for analysing elections.
Objective
This proposal is in the area of computational social choice, an area on the intersection of computer science and economics. We study multiwinner elections, with a focus on a pragmatic approach. Our goal is to provide a principled framework for applying multiwinner voting in various settings that may appear in real-life (ranging from small-scale elections in various institutions, through participatory budgeting settings, to applications directly within computer science). In particular, we are interested in: (a) designing new, fast algorithms for computing the outcomes of multiwinner voting rules (results of such rules are often NP-hard to compute), also for new languages of specifying preferences that are needed in practical settings; (b) obtaining algorithmic and mathematical understanding of preference data; and (c) providing algorithms for analyzing elections and their results. We are interested both in theoretical studies (designing new algorithms, analyzing computational complexity of election-related problems, establishing axiomatic features of multiwinner voting rules, etc.) and in experimental evaluations (finding out running times of algorithms, establishing their approximation ratios, evaluating properties of preference data, etc.).
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantHost institution
30-059 Krakow
Poland