[EM] Re: IRV wins big in SF and Vermont

[Forest Simmons]

I second all of Alex's suggestions below.  Mike, Bart, and Richard have
all written clearly and convincingly on the topic of Approval versus IRV,
as well as Approval versus other methods.

If we had someone like Anthony Simmons whose mom was an English professor
to edit a compendium of the best efforts of theirs (and of others that
want to contribute), it would be quite a book!

Forest

On Thu, 7 Mar 2002, [iso-8859-1] Alex Small wrote:

> I must have missed the original post in the thread, but all I've seen is
> reaction to it.  I get the digest version, but I frequently read
> groups.yahoo.com/group/election-methods-list, and I've seen replies to my
> posts appear before my posts.
>
> Those of us who conclude that Approval Voting is far superior to IRV need
> to act.  I have a few ideas:
>
> 1) I know of a Libertarian candidate for Sec. of State in Indiana (Paul
> Hager, www.hager2002.org) who is running on an AV platform, but who knows
> if he really stands a chance?
>
> If we could identify some serious candidates who support AV, maybe we could
> have a pledge drive/fundraiser for them.  Call it $2002 for 2002, or
> something.  Nobody pays unless we get enough pledges to make a substantial
> donation (why spend our $ unless we can make a real impact?).
>
> 2)  AV needs a good popular book.  Brams and Fishburn wrote a superb book,
> but we need the sort of book that Barnes and Noble displays in front, the
> sort that gets reviewed in major newspapers, not just voting reform and
> third-party newsletters.  It would have to be provocative, otherwise it
> won't be read.  Since AV is a direct assault on the two-party monopoly the
> book should be as political as it is technical.
>
> Of course, who will write it?  I don't know.  I just know that it would be
> good if it happened, and that there are a lot of smart people on this list.
>
> 3)  Start a ballot initiative in a small county.  I'd sure pitch in a
> little cash for that.  If I had some collaborators in Santa Barbara County
> I'd beat the pavement to get signatures.
>
> 4)  If nobody has time to write a book, maybe we as a group could at least
> collaborate on a "white paper."  Submit it to the major third parties with
> a simple proposal:  Declare a truce in certain states, so that in each
> state legislative district and in each Sec. of State race there's only one
> third party candidate.  Each party to the truce simply agrees to make AV a
> major focus of the campaign.  I'm a quasi-libertarian, but I'd vote for a
> socialist if he made AV the focus of his campaign, at least in the Sec. of
> State race.
>
> Other ideas?
>
>