1 ) A method for selecting a value in a distributed computing system, the method comprising: receiving a first proposed value from a first client having a first client identifier; voting for the first proposed value in a first system step; transmitting a first indication of the voting for the first proposed value to one or more devices; and transmitting a first result of the voting for the first proposed value to the first client, wherein the voting for the first proposed value, the transmitting the first indication of the voting for the first proposed value, and the transmitting the first result are not performed if a second proposed value was proposed by a second client having a second client identifier that is more dominant than the first client identifier and the second proposed value was previously voted for.