Voting Method Synthesis on an Infinite Domain: A Possibility Theorem for Positive Involvement
Wesley H. Holliday
cs.GT
Aug 9, 2026 · v1
cs.MA econ.TH
TL;DR
Lean, with linarith and Mathlib's LRAT checker, verifies the synthesized voting method's Condorcet, positive involvement, and neutrality properties.
Abstract
A common problem in social choice is to determine whether there is a social choice procedure, such as a voting method, satisfying some desired criteria. Computer-aided methods such as SAT solving can sometimes answer these questions. However, under typical encodings, a SAT solver may only synthesize a voting method on a finite domain, while we may want one on an infinite domain, such as the domain of all preference profiles for a fixed number of candidates but any finite number of voters. In this paper, we use an approach based on reasoning with constrained Horn clauses and computation with polyhedra to synthesize a voting method on an infinite domain. We then use SMT and Lean to verify its properties. Our main result is a possibility theorem about four well-known criteria from voting theory: the Condorcet winner and loser criteria, positive involvement, and resolvability. Previous work has shown that for five or more candidates, there is no voting method satisfying these axioms, and that for four candidates, there is no method satisfying these core axioms plus one more invariance axiom. Here we show that for four candidates, there does exist a method satisfying the core axioms and more.
Problem
Determining whether a voting method exists satisfying desired criteria over an infinite domain (fixed candidates, arbitrarily many voters) is hard, as SAT encodings only handle finite domains. The specific question is whether a four-candidate voting method exists satisfying the Condorcet winner and loser criteria, positive involvement, and resolvability.
Approach
A voting method is synthesized on an infinite domain using constrained Horn clauses and computation with polyhedra over real-valued margin matrices. Quantifier-free formulas defining candidate-exclusion predicates are obtained by iterating a Step operation to a semantic fixpoint. The SMT solver Z3 checks nonemptiness and the required axioms. Lean then verifies the properties, with Z3 and CaDiCaL generating certificates for linear-arithmetic case distinctions that Lean checks using linarith and Mathlib's LRAT checker.
Results
A margin-invariant voting method for four candidates satisfying the Condorcet winner and loser criteria, positive involvement, and resolvability is shown to exist, resolving the previously open four-candidate case.