[EM] Approval election example

[Buddha Buck]

"MIKE OSSIPOFF" <nkklrp at hotmail.com> writes:

> I like the idea of a demonstration poll, but voting on which months
> are best is difficult, it seems to me. It's something that many
> people don't have an opinion on.
> 
> If we want to hold a demonstration poll, I suggest that we first
> vote on what the poll will be about. The subject of the poll is
> itself a legitimate issue to vote on.

I feel that whatever we vote on in the demonstration poll should have
the following characteristics:

1) It should be obvious that this is a demonstration poll -- using
real politics and real politicians is not a good idea; people will
interpret it to mean more than it does.

2) It should be something which people have an opinion on -- the
voters should be able to cast the ballot sincerely without having to
make superfine or random distinctions.  At the very least, their
should be a big difference in perceived value between highest and
lowest preferences (note: being able to cast a ballot sincerely does
not preclude intentionall casting it insincerely for strategic
purposes).

3) The opinions should be naturally varied among the voters.  There
should not be a "natural" winner among the choices, and it would be
nice if the voters could recognise that there is room for variation.

4) The poll should be general enough such that it can be expanded
beyond just the limited confines of this list without too much
trouble.  It would be useful to be able to collect several hundred
ballots by setting up a table at a convention, a college campus, etc,
and polling the general public.  As such, it shouldn't require lots of
explanation as to the choices.

I think some sort of food preference would fit these criteria
naturally.  Doing a poll on food preference would not be taken
horribly seriously, everyone has an opinion, most people recognise
that tastes vary, and almost everyone can understand such a ballot.

I'd like to nominate the "one-topping pizza" poll as a demonstration
poll.  The poll question would be:

"A one-topping pizza is made from a pizza crust, tomatoe-based pizza
sauce, mozzarella cheese, and one additional topping.  Please vote for
the additional topping from: pepperoni, mushrooms, black olives,
italian sausage, ham, pineapple, broccoli, roasted garlic, spinach,
extra cheese, anchovies, etc, etc, etc"


> _________________________________________________________________
> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com