[EM] Nader and Kerry Sharing Electors

[Alex Small]

> Firstly: The idea that Nader electors voting for Kerry would eliminate
> the  spoiler effect is unfounded - that only matters if Nader carries
> the state.

Not necessarily.  Technically, we vote for electors.  The name of the
candidate on the ballot is simply a proxy for a bloc of electors.  If both
names on the ballot refer to the same group of electors then it doesn't
matter if Nader wins the state.

To wit, suppose that Bifur, Bombur, and Bofur are 3 electors shared by
Kerry and Nader.  Depending on the laws of the state, a vote for Kerry
could mean that Bifur, Bombur, and Bofur each get 1 vote apiece, and a
vote for Nader could mean that Bifur, Bombur, and Bofur each get 1 vote
apiece.

Hmm, here's an even weirder idea:  Suppose that a state has 6 electoral
votes.  Kerry and Nader might agree to share Bifur, Bombur, and Bofur, but
Kerry might also nominate Ori, Nori, and Dori while Nader nominates Balin,
Dwalin, and Thorin.  There would actually be the possibility of Bush and
Kerry sharing electors.  (Bush nominates Shagrat, Gorbag, Azog, Ungoliant,
Gothmog, and Thuringwelt, for true Lord of the Rings buffs.)

Say that Bush gets 49%, Kerry gets 40%, and Nader gets 11%.  The 3 shared
electors between Nader and Kerry would have votes from 52% of the people,
so they are chosen.  All 6 of Bush's electors would have votes from 49% of
the people.  3 of Kerry's electors would have votes from 40% of the
people.  So Bush would get 3 electors and Kerry/Nader would get 3
electors.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are states where this is possible. 
Although 48 states have the winner-take-all system when each candidate has
a different bloc of electors, the details may differ and this all comes
down to details.  Can a person be an elector for more than one party?  If
a person is listed as an elector on more than one list, does a vote for
that elector count regardless of which list it was cast for?  The devil is
in the details here.  Actually, 40 years ago some Southern states still
had "free electors", and voters could mix or match different electors
rather than voting a straight ticket of electors.  I don't know whether
that practice vanished because of legislative changes or simply because
candidates and electors changed the way in which they registered and
campaigned.  So maybe some Southern states would actually allow this
practice.

And maybe, just maybe, Florida would be one of those states?  Who knows?

I doubt that a major party candidate would do this, but maybe if the
Greens and Libertarians can successfully spoil some states a few years in
a row things will change.



Alex Small