[EM] The IRV non-reform

MIKE OSSIPOFF nkklrp at hotmail.com
Thu Jan 22 02:22:03 PST 2004


Bill Lewis Clark said:

Thirdly -- and please correct me if I'm wrong here

I reply:

Ok.

Bill continued:

-- the problems with
IRV aren't likely to spring up in a political climate with only two major
parties and relatively small additional parties.

I reply:

The "2-party-system" is a result of the Plurality voting system. Have you 
heard of Duverger's law? We have a link to it from the electionmethods 
website.

Sure, mass media misinformation about the "2 choices" contributes, but the 
artificial 2-party system couldn't be maintained without an inadequate 
voting system. An inadequate voting system like Plurality or IRV.

You continued:

For the time being,
that's the situation here in the US, and it isn't likely to change very
quickly, even if we were to adopt Condorcet.

I reply:

Yoiu'd be surprised. Even the simple & modest Approval would, for the first 
time, let everyone feel free to fully support their favorite. No one would 
ever have incentive to vote anyone over their favorite. That can't be said 
of Plurality or IRV. And for once the election results would begin to reveal 
what people actually want, and how much support the alternatives really 
have.

Mike Ossipoff

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