[EM] approval vs. IRV: ER-IRV(whole)

[James Green-Armytage]

Dear election methods fanatics,

	Whenever we list-dwellers debate approval vs. IRV (and I have no
illusions that this will be the last time it happens), I'd like to suggest
that people keep equal rankings IRV (whole votes) in mind as much as
possible.
	Does ER-IRV(whole) have any serious disadvantages to IRV? I don't
remember being informed of any, but I hope someone will bring them up if
they exist.
	It seems to me that ER-IRV(whole) answers a lot of the harsher criticisms
of IRV which can be made in favor of approval, while maintaining the
benefits that IRV has that approval doesn't. I almost think of
ER-IRV(whole) as a sort of IRV approval hybrid. Sort of, almost, some kind
of hybrid, or something.
	Now I'm not saying that it isn't worthwhile for approval folks to
criticize plain IRV. If people are thinking of using it in some places,
yeah, the criticisms are important. But if we're suggesting something else
in it's place, what do we suggest? Well, a lot of us would say Condorcet.
And yeah, it is perhaps a little silly to get too excited about ER-IRV
when you can do Condorcet with the exact same ballots, but you know what
they'll say, Condorcet hasn't been used on a large scale yet, but IRV has.
And the whole burying strategy thing, which I still think is an issue even
if no one else does, plus the turkey argument which I think is bullshit
but a lot of people buy into it, and so on.
	But anyway, let's assume for some cosmic reason that no one in this weird
election situation X in some random American state will accept Condorcet
at this juncture. They're right on the verge of accepting plain IRV, but
lo, we send them an e-mail that says "WAIT, DON'T USE PLAIN IRV, USE
_______!!!". Fill in the blank. Do we say, "don't use plain IRV, use
ER-IRV(whole)", or "don't use plain IRV, use approval"? 
	See, my feeling right now is to go with the first one. The e-mail will
say "Wait, don't use plain IRV, use ER-IRV(whole), or we'll eat your
babies! signed, the scary election methods fanatics." 
	'Cause you know, shit, it's not like the IRV organizers really have to
lose face or anything because they're using an equal rankings version.
They can say that's what they meant all along, and I won't mind. Maybe
it's they're courts or something, I don't know. They're always on about
their courts. But you know, that's the way it works in this country.
Really it's a country ruled by lawyers. But anyway, maybe the judge won't
be cranky that day and he won't realize that the equal rankings version
isn't strictly speaking one vote per person per round. I don't know.
	Anyway, that's what I think right at this moment. Hooray for
ER-IRV(whole). Down with plain IRV and approval. At least, I guess, you
know?

best,
James