How do you think the new minimum wage law will affect Seattle? Will it be for the better or for the worse? Why?
Original Polis poll: https://pol.is/2demo
New minimum wage in Seattle: $15/hour
See All 54 Comments
Explanations
Analysis
Popularity measures how popular is a set of comments for the participants. It is equal to the total amount of positive votes (a.k.a. thumbs-up, or approvals) received by the comments in the selection.
Inclusion measures the percentage of participants included in the selection. That is, the percentage of participants who expressed a positive opinion (a.k.a. thumb-up, or approval) about at least one of the selected comments.
For instance, an inclusion of 60% means that 60% of the participants feel positively about at least one comment of the selection.
Selection Methods
A selection method is a procedure that selects a given number of comments based on the votes submitted by the users.
The desired number of comments to select is always given up-front.
Proportional Trichotomous Voting by Kraiczy, Papasotiropoulos, Pierczyński & Skowron, 2025: A trichotomous extension of the PAV rule in which both approved and selected alternatives, as well as disapproved and not selected alternatives, contribute positively to the score.
Proportional Trichotomous Voting by Talmon and Page, 2021: Maximizes the difference between (1) the PAV score based on approved and selected alternatives, and (2) the PAV score based on disapproved but selected alternatives.
Proportional Trichotomous Voting by Hervouin, 2025: Maximizes the sum of (1) the PAV score for approved and selected alternatives, and (2) the PAV score for maximum number of comments to select minus the number of disapproved but selected alternatives.
Sequential Phragmèn for trichotomous profiles: Sequential Phragmén adapted for trichotomous ballots.
Taxed Sequential Phragmèn for trichotomous profiles: Runs Phragmén’s sequential rule on a participatory budgeting instance where each project's cost equals a tax for selecting it. The cost of a project is equal to its approval score divided by its support (the number of approvals minus the number of disapprovals).
Taxed Method of Equal Shares by Kraiczy, Papasotiropoulos, Pierczyński & Skowron, 2025: Applies the Method of Equal Shares (MES) to a participatory budgeting instance where each project's cost equals a tax for selecting it. The cost of a project is equal to its approval score divided by its support (the number of approvals minus the number of disapprovals).
Maximum Satisfaction for trichotomous profiles: Selects the comments so to maximise the total satisfaction of voters. Each voter's satisfaction equals the number of approved and selected alternatives minus the number of disapproved but selected alternatives.
Chamberlin-Courant for trichotomous profiles: Selects the comments so to maximise the number of voters with positive satisfaction.
Summary of the Comment Section
This section highlights various methods for selecting a small set of comments that best capture the broader conversation (see the comment section below).
Each method focuses on a different perspective, emphasizing principles such as popularity, representation, or diversity. This leads to different voices being represented. Explore the section below to get a sense of the impact these approaches have.
Change Selection Methods
Popularity-Based Selection
Selection 1
Representation-Based Selection
Selection 2
Inclusion-Based Selection
Selection 3
Highlight Differences