Democracy @ Home: One Family Tries Consensus Choice Voting to Pick Dinner
Every family faces the classic dilemma: “Where should we eat tonight?” Our Better Choices for Democracy summer fellow, Adam Trinklein, enlisted his family to use the beta version of our new Consensus Choice Voting tool developed by University of Maryland Professor Eric Pacuit to make this group decision.
The Challenge: Four Dinner Options, One Winner
The family narrowed their choices to four contenders:
Stay home for ravioli
Go out to a local Mexican restaurant
Head to the movie theater strip (with several restaurant options)
Try the nearby Indian restaurant
Here’s how it worked.
With consensus choice voting each person ranks the dinner options from most to least preferred. Tied rankings are allowed, and it’s possible to bullet-vote a single favorite. The tool then runs the numbers, comparing all the options in pairs to find the choice with the broadest support.
The process was simple:
Set up a poll with the four dinner options.
Each family member filled out a ranked ballot (including the family dog, who was a fan of outdoor seating!).
Ballots were submitted and results revealed.
The Results Are In
As expected, preferences varied widely. Some wanted to stay home, others were excited about Mexican food, a few liked the idea of the movie theater strip, and there were even votes for Indian cuisine.
Consensus Choice surfaces the one that earns the most overall support. In this case, the Mexican restaurant came out on top. Even those who didn’t pick it as their first choice felt satisfied with the outcome.
Why It Worked
Everyone’s voice counted equally: Each ranking contributed to the group’s satisfaction, not just the top picks.
It made decision-making fun: Turning dinner selection into a mini voting challenge brought some extra enjoyment to the process.
Consensus choice voting isn’t just for elections—it’s ideal for any group decision, from picking a restaurant to choosing a family movie. Our new Consensus Choice Voting tool makes it quick and easy to set up a poll and let everyone’s preferences be heard.
Next time the family faces a dinner deadlock, why not let democracy do the deciding? It might just turn a dreaded debate into a fun, satisfying experience for everyone—humans and dogs alike.
