What does "Schulze Method" mean?

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The Schulze method is a way to decide the winner in an election where voters rank their preferences for candidates. It looks at how candidates compare to each other in head-to-head matchups. If a candidate wins against all others in these matchups, they are declared the overall winner.

To figure out the winner, this method uses a special structure called a matrix, which organizes the pairwise results of the election. The Schulze method ensures fairness by following certain rules that many people find reasonable and desirable.

There are different challenges to how elections can be affected by outside forces—like when someone tries to change the result by altering candidates or voters. Some areas in this type of control are well understood, while others still have unanswered questions. Researchers continue to investigate these issues, looking for answers and ways to improve the method.