[EM] Persistent Majority (a new single-winner method)

[Steve Eppley]

Here's a simple method of electing single-seat offices:

Essentially, incumbents would continually be in danger of removal.
There wouldn't be an "election day": voters would be allowed to vote 
whenever they want and change their votes whenever they want.  
Whenever a challenger maintains a majority (pairwise) lead over the 
incumbent for a significant period of time (about a month?) then the 
challenger is elected and the incumbent is ousted.  Anytime the 
incumbent retakes the lead over a challenger, the challenger's "lead 
clock" is reset to zero.

People who haven't yet voted their preference for the incumbent would 
not have to bother voting until a challenger gets close to holding a 
majority lead for the required period of persistence.  Presumably the 
news media would alert potential voters about incumbents in imminent 
danger of being ousted.  It wouldn't take many responsible voters to 
then defeat a fringe challenger (someone whom only a few voters 
prefer more than the incumbent).

There'd be no limit on the number of challengers, and no need to 
gather signatures to place a challenger on a ballot.  (The challenger 
would gather votes, not signatures.)  Perhaps for simplicity's sake 
the voters would only be allowed to express preferences regarding 
pairings which include the incumbent, and not on pairings of two 
challengers.

I'm not saying that I advocate the above method.  I just think that 
it's simple and straightforward, and therefore worthy of being posted.
If it has enough merit, some missing details would have to be added: 
how to fill an empty seat, and the question of whether there should 
be a maximum term of office.


---Steve     (Steve Eppley    seppley at alumni.caltech.edu)