Doing What has To Be Done

[New Democracy]

Dear List,

Steve Eppley wrote: "Trying to do fractional transfer in a manual tally is
extremely tedious"(exact quote).

Donald writes: Fractional transfer is a bit more tedious - but not extreme.
The people doing the numbers must know how to do it and then do it
correctly like clockwork - it can be done. His use of the word "extremely"
is extreme.

     But he is missing the point. The decision between using fractional or
random should not be based on the degrees of the word tedious - the
decision should be based on what has to be done.

     Going to the dentist can be tedious - but it has to be done.
     Going to the toilet can be tedious sometimes - but it has to be done.
     Childbirth can be extremely tedious - but it has to be done.

     Fractional transfer can be tedious - but it has to be done. Fractional
transfer will draw an exact line that will divide the candidates that
should win from the candidates that should lose - and if you were to do the
numbers over and over a hundred times you would come up with the same
results every time. Random cannot do the same - random can show different
results each time you crunch the numbers.

     In the begining we have the method which I call Vote For Only One. A
good method but a method that contains an error - sometimes one or two
candidates might lose when they should have won. Enter Preference Voting -
which when used with Hare Quota and Fractional Transfer corrects this
error. BUT! - if we were to use randon transfer and/or Droop Quota we would
reintroduce the error into the system.

     And the logic follows: If we are going to accept an error then why use
Preference Voting - drop the Preference Voting method that has the bad
design features and use Vote For Only One. We will still have an error but
we will have a very simple - but good method - no need for computers - very
quick results. No sense in bothering with Preference Voting if we are going
to mess it up with Randon and/or Droop. Think about this Steve.

Don

     Post Script: - is Steve ever going to tell us what happened in Pasadena?


Donald Eric Davison of New Democracy at http://www.mich.com/~donald

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