[EM] Maximum Consent

[Blake Cretney]

On 06 Aug 2001 23:11:23 -0400
Buddha Buck <bmbuck at 14850.com> wrote:

> Blake Cretney <bcretney at postmark.net> writes:
> 
> > On Mon, 6 Aug 2001 12:26:25 -0700 (PDT)
> > Forest Simmons <fsimmons at pcc.edu> wrote:
> >  
> > > An ordinary Approval ballot has important relevant information
> > > that cannot be deduced from a preference ballot.
> > > 
> > > Although a preference ballot may have a greater quantity of
> > > information, the Approval ballot has the most relevant
information
> > > for consent of the governed: i.e. which candidates could the
voter
> > > willingly give consent to.
> > 
> > I'm not even sure that that it is a meaningful statement.

--snip--
>   Buddha                 Barb
--snip--
> If we were given approval ballots, we'd get
> 
>    [Y]     Al Gore       [N]
>    [N]   Pat Buchanan    [N]
>    [N]   Yog Shuggoth    [N]
>    [N]     Cthulhu       [N]
> 
> Only on the approval ballot does Barb get to indicate that she
doesn't
> consent to be governed by Al Gore.

Isn't her ballot equivalent in effect to a spoiled ballot?  I can
express anything in any election if I don't care about spoiling my
ballot.

Or are you assuming some special procedure if no candidate gets above
a majority?  That isn't necessarily implied by approval voting.

---
Blake Cretney