[EM] PR in student government...

[Bob Richard]

Tim and all,

Among colleges and universities adopting proportional or
semi-proportional systems, STV is the overwhelming favorite.  If
students at (for example) Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon can
figure it out, then students at the University of Michigan probably can
too.

The (alleged) complexity of STV is entirely a matter of the counting
process; the task for the voter is actually very simple.  Having said
that, the conventional ways of explaining the count invariably lose
audiences, and we need to learn how to present it better.

If you currently had district elections (from dormitories or
neighborhoods), you could propose mixed member proportional (MMP).  But
that doesn't sound like your situation.

Bob Richard
Publications Director
Californians for Electoral Reform
http://www.cfer.org
P.O. Box 235
Kentfield, CA 94914-0235
(415) 256-9393


-----Original Message-----
From: election-methods-bounces at electorama.com
[mailto:election-methods-bounces at electorama.com]On Behalf Of Tim Hull
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 9:30 AM
To: election-methods at electorama.com
Subject: [EM] PR in student government...


Hi,

I e-mailed this list a while back about election methods in student
government.  I'm at the University of Michigan, and we use a variant of
the Borda count for our elections where you get as many votes as open
seats.  Slates of candidates typically contest elections as "parties",
and most discussion of elections revolves around these parties.

Anyway, the system as-is works better than at-large plurality, but it
still leaves much to be desired.  The biggest problem with the current
system is that the largest party slate always wins a disproportionately
high number of seats - so large, in fact, that competition has generally
withered away.

As a result, I'm looking at proportional representation systems - and
possibly introducing one as a ballot initiative for next year. However,
I have experienced great trouble in finding a system that people like.
Single Transferable Vote seems ideal, but it has the drawback of being
complex (and, as a result, hard for people to comprehend).  Party lists
are simpler, but they force voters to support an entire party - not
ideal at all.

Does anyone have any suggestions?  I was actually recently elected to a
representative seat as the only independent candidate to defeat the
dominant party slate, and am planning to introduce something.  I just
need to be able to convince others...

Tim Hull