Proxy Democracy

[DEMOREP1 at aol.com]

fsimmons at pcc.edu wrote in part-

Obviously it was Demorep's low tech proxy PR postings that sparked these
ideas, though the variants described there had no application to single
winner elections. 
---
D-  Always glad to stimulate some new stuff.

The single winner executive/ judicial case is an end case of the general case 
of electing N candidates to ANY legislative, executive or judicial office.

That is, ALL the combinations of --

N  test/final winners versus each test loser (with the other choices deemed 
losers).

I have suggested many times that an executive or judicial winner should be 
getting a majority vote of the voters.

One variant for the simple proxy case for a single office might be just for 
the candidates for such office to go into a public room (i.e. no smoke filled 
back room in secret) and vote until a majority winner shows up (if there is 
no immediate majority winner due to the choice of the voters).    Each 
candidate would have a voting power equal to the votes that he/she received 
from the voters.

Because of Condorcet concerns with single winner offices simple proxy p.r. 
type lists (vote transfers from low losers) should NOT be used (unless of 
course, such lists use Condorcet math).

Question -- deprive the candidates of bread and water until they get a 
majority winner (as was done in ancient times for jurors in jury trials until 
a verdict was produced) ???

This brings up again whether or not only number votes (1, 2, etc.) should be 
used.

I would suggest that a 2nd choice vote is not necessary to be counted for 
most folks if a 1st choice vote determines a result --- with a like manner 
for 3rd (versus 1st plus 2nd votes), etc.

If anything, having number votes (with or without Condorcet math) for high 
executive offices (President, State governors, city mayors) will obviously 
put some major pressure to have more accurate p.r. methods for legislative 
body elections (with such things as number votes or 100 to 0 scale votes).

As usual, I suggest *short* terms to reduce the odds of electing long term 
disaster candidates -- especially U.S.A. Presidents.

How many folks get really tired of the actions (or inactions) of a new U.S.A. 
President or a Congress even after 1 year ???

Folks should be noting that even the Afghanistan folks have a *very rough* 
proxy system with the leaders of the various tribes/ gangs meeting together.