[EM] Approval with 2 ballotings

[Alex Small]

MIKE OSSIPOFF said:
> The above considerations suggest that if we propose Approval for
> municipal elections now done by Runoff, then the Approval balloting
> should be followed by a top-2 runoff. It's a matter of suggesting
> merely
>  that people be allowed to vote for as many as they want to in
> the 1st balloting instead of only for 1.

True, but there's the very real danger of a faction voting for both
their favorite and one of the 3 Stooges.  Consider the California GOP
gubernatorial primary in 2002.  Gray Davis ran ads suggesting that
Riordan was dishonest when he claimed to be a conservative.  Now, while
allegations of double-talk may be perfectly legitimate in a political
campaign, the timing and targeting indicate an attempt to get a weaker
candidate (Bill Simon) nominated.

> I don't care if they keep the party primaries. No
> doubt people would insist on it, though I agree with the Libertarians
> that parties have no right to expect the public to pay for parties'
> voting to decide whom they'll run.

I see it this way:  Parties should have the right to nominate their
candidates at private conventions open only to registered members.
However, if they avail themselves of the public primaries then ANY voter
should be allowed to participate, not just registered members.  I
suspect that the candidates nominated in open elections will fare better
than those nominated in smoke-filled rooms.

OK, maybe this is somewhat inconsistent with my 3 Stooges argument, but
I (like many other independents) got disgusted in 2000 when the Dems and
GOP passed over 2 honest candidates (Bill Bradley and John McCain) for
two liars who wouldn't have gotten anywhere in life were they not
namesake sons of politicians.  Thanks to closed primaries, we spent much
of 2000 talking about Al Gore sighing and George W. mispronunciating
words.  Neither of them had a damn thing to say that really mattered.  A
third of the voters can't stand either major party, but we're stuck with
the monstrosities that their registerd members nominate.

Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.



Alex


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