BOSSHOG
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 01:55 PM
Original message |
Instant runoff - good idea? |
|
Some states are fooling with the idea. If there are more than two candidates for an office, the voter would vote for their number one choice but also list 2nd, 3rd etc. The result would be an instant runoff vote. I'm not sold - yet!
|
acmejack
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 01:57 PM
Response to Original message |
1. Save a lot of money & time. |
|
Run offs are a real pain in the butt around here.
|
BOSSHOG
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 01:59 PM
Response to Reply #1 |
|
instantly popped into my head. That would be quite a chuckle in the New Orleans Mayors Race with 24 candidates. And, people keeping up with politics should know who their second or third choice would be; otherwise they wouldn't have a first choice. Good Job Jack, you sold me.
|
BlueEyedSon
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 02:01 PM
Response to Original message |
3. Excellent idea, makes 3rd party candidacy possible without the "spoiler |
endarkenment
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 02:02 PM
Response to Original message |
|
Seriously, what are your objections?
|
BOSSHOG
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 02:09 PM
Response to Reply #4 |
7. I have no objections to a new idea |
|
I just heard of this and am mulling it over.
|
endarkenment
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 02:17 PM
Response to Reply #7 |
9. Its in use lots of other places. |
|
Also there have been quite a few studies of how various instant runoff schemes work. I think Scientific American published a few of them a while back. Applying IRV to presidential elections would require lots of legislative work (and either a constitutional amendment or a multi state initiative) as it makes little sense to implement IRV when we don't even get to vote directly for president and we use a winner take all plurality system.
Of course none of this matters if the voting infrastructure itself is compromised. Fraud is still fraud.
|
MissMarple
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 02:02 PM
Response to Original message |
5. There is some thought it would dilute the current two party monopoly. |
|
Edited on Mon Mar-06-06 02:12 PM by MissMarple
Some places are trying it out. Here's a link. http://www.instantrunoff.com/
|
BlueEyedSon
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 03:44 PM
Response to Reply #5 |
Sawkrates
(46 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 04:03 PM
Response to Reply #5 |
|
I actually did a little campaign work for a citywide initative in Takoma Park MD support instant runoff voting.Most of the activists were greens. If it is implemented then it does away with the spoiler effect (ie voters will no longer have to worry about votes for a Green Party candidate costing the Dems an election.)
However so long as the present winner take all congressional district system is in place (ie where a candidate needs to win the support of an outright majority of the voters somewhere to win a seat in Congress) third parties will remain effectively shut out of the legislative process in the US.
Also, for more information on this sort of thing, please visit:
www.fairvote.org (shameless plug for a former employer)
|
Che_Nuevara
(517 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 02:05 PM
Response to Original message |
6. The mathematics of voting theory are quite interesting. |
|
There's a long-standing argument about what the 'most democratic' way of voting actually is. Check out http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/voting_system for a discussion on different types of voting.
|
Sawkrates
(46 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 04:10 PM
Response to Reply #6 |
16. My personal crackpot idea... |
|
Would be to change the legislature so that each district elected multiple candidates, with their representation in congress related to the number of votes they recieve in a general election. (Ie if a Democrat got 60,000 votes in a congressional district they'd recieve 60,000 votes in the legislature, if a Republican got 30,000 votes in a district they'd get 30,000 in the legislature, etc).
This way everyone gets represented by a candidate of their choice, and nobody could argue that their vote didn't count.
|
AllegroRondo
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 02:10 PM
Response to Original message |
8. It makes negative ads much less effective |
|
because the person running the negative ads wont automatically become the default choice.
One side effect seen in San Francisco local elections, was candidates running campaign events together. They would get 20 or more candidates for mayor, with no limits on number of candidates per party. So - 2 or more candidates would get together and hold events. The idea being "vote for me, but if you vote for my friend here, pick me as a second choice".
It really changes the dynamics of election campaigns, and in a good way.
|
thereismore
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 02:22 PM
Response to Original message |
10. Thom Hartmann is really excited about it. That's usually a good sign. nt |
mdmc
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 02:23 PM
Response to Original message |
11. can't be worse then what we got |
|
:shrug: now, how do we get rid of the 'lectral college?:kick:
|
FreedomAngel82
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 03:46 PM
Response to Original message |
|
I think it would be a good idea.
|
Sawkrates
(46 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
|
Mon Mar-06-06 04:06 PM
Response to Original message |
15. If it had been instituted in FL in 2000 Al Gore would now be POTUS |
|
It would eliminate situations where a majority of voters want a liberal/progressive candidate, but a conservative wins because the liberal vote is split between a number of candidates and the conservative winds up with the most votes.
And for more info on this very topic, please visit:
www.fairvote.org (shameless plug for an ex employer)
|
DU
AdBot (1000+ posts) |
Sun May 05th 2024, 09:23 PM
Response to Original message |