12 videos · 2 hr 17 minHow to Count a Vote
Every election thread on Hacker News turns into a voting theory seminar, and these are the videos commenters keep linking. The order is a short course: first the problem with plurality voting, then the alternatives and their failure modes, then the math that says no system is perfect, then how district maps and ballot counting can be gamed. Most are under 15 minutes.
Play all on YouTube- 16:31
Why Your Vote Doesn't Count
CGP Grey · Picked by 10 · 2015–2025Starts with the problem: HN's default explainer of how first-past-the-post pushes any country toward two parties.
- 214:03
Simulating alternate voting systems
Primer · Picked by 2 · 2020–2026Primer's simulated voters run plurality, ranked choice and approval side by side, so you see each system's behavior instead of taking it on faith.
- 33:35
How our voting system (and IRV) betrays your favourite candidate
The Center for Election Science · Picked by 5 · 2014–2023A three-minute warning before you fall for ranked choice: the clip HN posts to show that instant runoff can still punish voters for ranking their favorite first.
- 423:34
Why Democracy Is Mathematically Impossible
Veritasium · Picked by 0 · 2024–2026Veritasium turns the specific flaws into a general result, walking through Arrow's theorem and why every ranked method gives something up.
- 5
6:23How We Should Vote (Range Voting)
Undefined Behavior · Picked by 3 · 2017–2019Picks up right where Arrow leaves off, showing how score voting sidesteps the theorem by having voters rate candidates instead of ranking them.
- 6
6:18Animated Voting Methods
Unify The Vote · Picked by 3 · 2018–2022A little-watched gem: colored win regions across a 2D political space make the case for cardinal methods like STAR better than any argument could.
- 7
6:47The Voting System That's Actually Too Good for Politicians to Allow
CGP Grey · Picked by 7 · 2015–2021Moves from picking one winner to filling a legislature, with HN's standard link for single transferable vote and why incumbents avoid it.
- 8
26:48Algorithmic Redistricting: Elections made-to-order
AlphaPhoenix · Picked by 2 · 2023–2025Even a perfect ballot fails if the map is rigged: AlphaPhoenix uses Monte Carlo search to draw North Carolina districts fair and foul.
- 9
5:04Liquid Democracy In Simple Terms
pxi · Picked by 1 · 2015–2020A brief detour into a more radical idea HN keeps returning to: lending your vote to someone you trust, and taking it back when you like.
- 10
12:01Why Electronic Voting Is Still A Bad Idea
Tom Scott · Picked by 11 · 2020–2026Then the counting itself: Tom Scott's argument, linked in nearly every e-voting thread, that software attacks scale in ways attacks on paper cannot.
- 11
8:34Was YOUR vote counted? (feat. homomorphic encryption) - Numberphile
Numberphile · Picked by 5 · 2016–2024The cryptographer's reply: Ron Rivest explains how a receipt can prove your vote was counted without letting you prove to anyone how you voted.
- 12
17:46Why do Biden's votes not follow Benford's Law?
Stand-up Maths · Picked by 2 · 2020–2024Ends with auditing results: Matt Parker shows when Benford's Law can catch fraud and why it does not apply to precinct totals.