The Early History of Approval Voting 1268 to 1797

Venice in the Middle Ages - Guarding Against Two Party Control

At the start of the 13th century, Venice stood out in Europe as a republic in a sea of absolute kings and emperors. The people of Venice were not led by either of these types of rulers, but instead by a “doge” - a person elected by his peers (“the nobles”), who served as the leader of the Venetian state for life. The doge led armies into battle, directed policy, and oversaw the finances of the sprawling Mediterranean republic.

While many noble families held the top position in Venice, two families came to dominate the executive office by the 1200s: the Tiepolos and the Dandolos. At that time, the election of a doge required just a simple majority from the 40-person nominating council. The flaws of plurality voting, combined with a city deeply divided between the two parties, led to a 20-20 tie between a Tiepolo and a Dandolo in 1229, which had to be resolved by drawing lots. By the 1260s, with only two viable families to choose from, the people of Venice took sides more fervently. The canals of Venice were lined with banners showing support for either the Tiepolos or the Dandolos. This heated rivalry erupted into violence when the head of the Tiepolos was attacked and injured by Dandolo supporters.

In 1268, the doge Raineri Zeno (who represented a brief period of a third faction holding power) died, necessitating the election of a new doge. With political violence and factionalism threatening their republic, the Venetians made a significant change to the election process. They allowed the electors to support multiple candidates, requiring the new doge to have broad approval by securing votes from at least 25 of the now 41 electors (60% approval). They would drop balls into urns showing their support or opposition to each candidate, and whoever reached the 60% approval threshold and had the most approvals would be elected. That year, Lorenzo Tiepolo became the first recorded major state leader elected by approval voting.

Between 1268 and 1289, both the Tiepolos and the Dandolos each had one turn as doge. Many in the public feared that if the doge elected in 1289 were from either of these families, it might turn Venice’s leader into a hereditary position. This fear of losing to the other side forever only increased the political temperature in the city. The threat of violence and even civil war loomed large as partisanship threatened to sink the republic. However, in 1289, the electors approved a compromise candidate from another family, a young reformer named Pietro Gradenigo. By all accounts, this averted the current crisis and broke the families’ duopoly, largely forever, as other families would rise to power. This moment demonstrates how approval voting can find where we agree, even at the most stressful of times.

Venetians would use approval voting - part of a process they called “scrutino” (scrutiny) - to elect 74 more doges and hundreds of ambassadors, ministers, and military commanders from 1268 until the end of the Serene Republic in 1797 when it was conquered by Napoleon.

The College of Cardinals - Stopping Vote Splitting

In the 13th century, the College of Cardinals, the electoral body responsible for choosing the pope, often struggled to make a decision. Throughout the century, selecting a new pope could take years, causing considerable strife for both laymen and clergy. The cardinals faced a significant problem in their papal elections: a candidate needed two-thirds of the votes to win, but with so many candidates, and only one vote to give, vote splitting made it difficult to rally around one candidate. To expedite the process and force a compromise, the practice of papal "conclaves" was introduced, where all cardinals were locked in a room and had their food reduced until they reached a decision.

However, this method of deprivation did not force compromise. In 1294, a change was made. Cardinal Jacopo Gaetani wrote Ordinarium Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae, outlining a new process for electing the pope. This new system allowed the College of Cardinals to support multiple candidates without limit. From the election of Pope Celestine V in 1294 until 1621, forty-one popes were elected using this system of approval voting. Like today's voters, the cardinals were largely judicious with their approval votes, typically voting for only 1.5 to 2 candidates on average.

Sources:
Colomer, J. M., & McLean, I. (1998). Electing popes: Approval balloting and qualified-majority rule. The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 29(1), 1–22.
Lane, F.C. (1973), Venice, A Maritime Republic. Johns Hopkins University Press
Lines, M. (1986). Approval voting and strategy analysis: A Venetian example. Theory and Decision, 20(2), 155–172.