[EM] STV district magnitude

[Alex Small]

> Please explain to me what specific advantages a candidate could
> give to its electorate when his/her district is formed with
> the people born between January 1st and January 5th of any year?

Good point.  I'd only remark that since the distribution of births is
non-uniform throughout the year, some districts might need to encompass
different numbers of days, but that's a minor point.  I suppose seats
could even be apportioned to birth groups by how many people from each
group voted in the latest election, to avoid the need for a census or any
pre-determined grouping of dates.

Of course, getting the electorate to approve this is another matter
altogether.

> single-membered virtual districts avoid crowded lists,
> can be fully proportional and still is coherent with your remarks.

Single-member virtual districts would be a horrible idea!  I'm going to
guess that the people born between January 1 and January 5 aren't that
different from people born between July 1 and July 5.  If each group got
only a single seat, statistically every group would almost certainly vote
for the same party/ideology/whatever.  Every legislator would have almost
the exact same stances.  That hardly provides diverse representation in
the legislature.

Virtual districts would have to be multi-member, just like any other
districts.

Of course, I have to confess that I still prefer geographic districts,
even if my reasons aren't entirely rational.



Alex