The Allure of IRV

[MIKE OSSIPOFF]

Adam does have a point, that people to whom IRV has been promoted
are more likely to insist on rank-balloting. That's especially or
mostly true of organizational IRV proponents, or people who've
been completely sold on IRV.

But those people are often or usually impossible to reach. There
are 2 kinds of IRVists who can't be reached: Organization leaders who
are completely committed to IRV; and others who are inclined to go
with what they've been told and won't listen to anything else.

Sure, there are a few people who've heard the IRVists' arguments who
listen & understand IRV's problems, and how those problems are avoided
by better methods. But what percentage are they?

The point of all that is that I don't expect that many committed
IRVists are going to change anyway.

So it seems to me that it isn't a matter of changing the IRVists.
It's merely a matter of defeating them. And that should be easy
when we tell people of IRV's problems, and point out that the IRVists
have been a little less than honest in concealing these facts from
those whom they promote to.

Monotonicity & Participation, when described in frank terms,
in terms of the absurd things that IRV will do, will discredit IRV
even in places where the public has heard its promotional arguments.

If the recent French election has eliminated the natural right
compromise in the runoff, and jumped to an extreme, that will help
illustrate IRV's problems too.

So, if we can't change the committed IRVists, but can only try
to defeat them, then which is the better proposal to offer as
a counterproposal, Approval or Condorcet? I can't say for sure that
I'm right, but it seems to me likely that we have a better chance,
when IRV is discredited, by saying, "Let's forget about their approach,
and go with something that's really simple, and easy to implement,
and which is nothing other than Plurality done right." My concern is
if we offer another rank-count that will just start a longer debate,
and the IRVists can say "Oh come on, if it's going to be a rank
method, let's stick with the one we were considering, the one that
you're familiar with."

Anyway, I'm not saying that I'm sure that I'm right about Approval
being the stronger proposal against IRV, when reaching the public,
not the committed IRVists, is the goal. I'm not sure, and of course
it's something that needs to be discussed, both here in general, and
in any particular placed where a public proposal is going to be made.

Mike Ossipoff


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