Voting by veto [VbV], developed by Dennis C. Mueller, is a two-stage voting mechanism for committee decision making. In the first stage, every member of the committee makes a proposal. The proposals are joined with the current status quo (or another fallback option). Then, a random mechanism determines the order of voting in the second stage. Here, the committee members sequentially eliminate one alternative each. After every committee member has cast her veto, a single alternative remains. This alternative is the winner.
VbV has several interesting theoretical properties: It is decisive, it satisfies neutrality, and it offers incentives leading to an equal distribution of payouts. However, there is hardly any empirical evidence on the workings of VbV. In my paper, I will present results from a laboratory experiment examining the theoretical predictions on VbV in a ‘divide the dollar game’ played among five-member committees.
