[EM] rank/approval cutoff ballot

[Abd ulRahman Lomax]

At 03:47 PM 7/20/2005, Dan Bishop wrote:
>[...]I think a good solution would be for elections to have two rounds:
>
>1. A qualifying primary, done entirely with write-in ballots, and counted 
>using Approval.  Candidates with a sufficient number of votes would 
>advance to...
>
>2. A runoff election, using ranked ballots.

Not a bad idea. Runoff elections have an additional advantage: an 
opportunity for a reduced field to compete. With fewer candidates, there is 
more ability of the electorate to see who they are. (If....)

Write-ins, though, can be a nightmare to count. About two years ago, some 
neighbors convinced my wife to run for Town Representative to the School 
Committee. No candidates had filed. I voted for her, she voted for herself, 
and several neighbors said that they voted for her. When the results came 
out, there were a number of names reported as written-in, but my wife's 
name was not among them. All of the written-in names had one vote each.

The chairman of the Board of Selectmen, when I asked him, said that he had 
seen my wife's name on a ballot. This is a small town (population 1000, 
about 600 registered voters.) Anyway, he told me that if she wanted to 
serve, just ask the Board and they would appoint her. (He was utterly 
unconcerned about the counting error. He knows the Town Clerk. I think his 
point was that the purpose of the election was to select an officer, and 
since the Board of Selectmen, given the tie vote, would have to appoint 
someone anyway, big deal about the vote.) But my wife, in the meantime, had 
decided that it would take too much time....

(This town uses plain paper ballots and a "voting machine" which is just a 
box with a crank on it, probably built sometime in the 19th century. You 
put the ballot in a slot in the top and turn the crank. The device delivers 
the ballot to an internal space that is locked. You can't fish ballots out 
the top....)

I like the idea of writing in the names, because it creates a level playing 
field. But the ballot could be binary coded, candidates could be identified 
by number. A list prepared shortly before the election could be provided so 
that voters could mark off boxes as shown on the list to identify their 
candidate(s). A space would also be provided for the candidate to write in 
the name in addition to, or instead of, using the list and the number. 
Voting guides could also be published with recommended entries to be made, 
so that voters who want to follow a party list can do so....