Are Papal elections working properly?

[Old Geezer]

This is just more proof of the game designers' pure brilliance. Clearly the votes were correctly displayed. However, it is not the votes that decide; it is the one who counts the votes! In other words, the election was stolen. Not of course that this ever actually, in fact, really ever happened. Except maybe once, when dead men who voted in Cook County Chicago in 1960 elected JFK. This is why the designers also gave you assassins to correct the miscounting problem.

[Slug For A Butt]

Sheer genius eh?
And there's me just thinking it was just another piece of shoddy programming. I now see it for the satirical theatre it is, I stand corrected.

[imnothere]

hmm, the best way to prevent it is to own the church of Rome yourself.

i spawn lots of priests, who either get promotion (in heathen lands) or else turned to heresy (failing to convert ppl from orthodox and losing faith). for the last 100 turns, i was practically voting people OUT of the church by voting them in as popes. sure. i wasnt getting MY pope in. but it also meants that as time goes on, and those ancient popes died off, there are less and less cardinals, as i flooded the promotion of priests from my fractions so that even my enemies vote for my pope to keep on their good side (whats left of 3 other cardinals from other fractions)

the funny with my current game is that Pope Tomascius is only 39 y/o when he started. and now? i am laughing all the way as i slowly strangle all of western europe. The pope is getting old now - 59 y/o, but still look healthy and got quite a few years left.

the key to dominate the catholic church is to see it as a war of patient and attrition. patient until you actually dominate the church so much that no bug can stuff up your game. and attrition by blocking the opposition's promotions with your own and removing the stumbling blocks by voting for those cardinals.