[EM] To Marquette, to Marquette ...

[Markus Schulze]

Dear participants,

Marquette is mentioned three times in "Proportional Representation"
(MacMillan Company, New York, 1926) by Clarence Gilbert Hoag and
George Hervey Hallett.

Page 7:
> A third majority preferential system, invented by Professor
> E.J. Nanson of Melbourne, has been used for public elections,
> so far as we know, in only one city, Marquette, Michigan.

Page 491:
>    The Nanson system gives the voter an opportunity of expressing
> as many choices as he pleases, the form of ballot recommended
> being like that used for the single transferable vote. But the
> rules for transfer provided under the single transferable vote
> are replaced under the Nanson system by rules for deducing the
> result arithmetically from the figures marked on all the ballots.
>    The only place where this system is used for public elections,
> so far as we know, is the city of Marquette, Michigan. There
> it is applied to the election of all city officials. Wakefield,
> Michigan, also adopted it, but has never used it because of
> doubts as to its constitutionality.

Page 494:
> Our conclusion, therefore, is that if the voters understand
> what they are doing, the danger of their mismarking their
> ballots under the Nanson system is not great. But voters do
> not always wait for expert advice before jumping to conclusions,
> and false impressions or uncertainty as to the effect of
> second and later choices might sometimes have serious results.
> According to City Clerk Brown this has not happened in the
> city of Marquette.

The third quotation suggests that Hoag and Hallett's knowledge
on Nanson's method in Marquette comes from direct communication
with people who live there. Therefore, I guess that the only
way to check whether Nanson's method has been used in Marquette,
Michigan, or Marquette, Wisconsin, is to go to both Marquettes
and to search the libraries.

Markus Schulze

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