There are better alternatives. Among them, the Borda count stands out as particularly resilient to polarising dynamics. It rewards broader appeal rather than extremism.
The article is published in a formal, mathematics-oriented journal, but I hope its key messages remain accessible to everyone.

In extreme cases, a party may win support through misogynistic 🤢 or xenophobic 🤮 rhetoric. Even if a large majority of voters reject such positions, this rejection does not matter electorally – as long as the party secures enough first-choice votes.

Most electoral systems only allow voters to express their first preference. What about second-best or third-best options? They are ignored. This incentivises political actors to focus narrowly on their base, not the broader electorate.

🤬 Polarisation is a global threat to democratic norms. Much attention has rightly been paid to causes such as social media. However, one crucial driver is often overlooked: our voting system itself. ‼️