[EM] vote pact

[raphfrk at netscape.net]

 From: simmonfo at up.edu
 > Check this out:

> 

> http://counterpunch.org/husseini10192006.html

> 

> Thanks,

  Is it even legal for 2 people to fill out 2 absent ballots together ? If so, then that seems to completely break the secret ballot mechanism if it is easy to vote that way.
 
 However, I wonder how much trust would actually be needed. If the middle candidate manages to get into 2nd place, then the trust requirement disappears.
 
 Maybe another way would be if newspapers just asked 2 questions for polls.
 
 "Who do you prefer?"
 and
 "Who are you going to vote for?"
 
 If the results were:
 
 "Who do you prefer"
 D: 30
 R: 37
 T: 33
 
 "Who are you going to vote for?"
 D: 45
 R: 53
 T: 2
 
 Would that break the 2 party system ? Hopefully, on the next poll there would be alot of people saying they will vote for the 3rd party candidate. 
 
 Having said that, there is a good arguement that you need to know not only favorite but also 2nd favorite candidates. This would give a 3*3 grid ... which may be a little complex. Even if only the top 2 choices are present, it would still probably be informative enough.
   
 However, maybe not. A candidate is most valuable (pork-wise), if he is from whatever party wins the election. This could act against the 3rd party candidate. There is also ofc the problem that a centerist will tend to have a disproportionately low number of top preferences, so the wouldn't get the 33 in the example above. Maybe the endorsement could be "I recommend you vote for T if he manages to get 1/3 in the polls"
 
 OTOH, if the 3rd party holds balance of power, they may be able to use it to divert alot of pork to their districts. However, that is all very negative and assumes that every member of each party will do what they are told. Likely, the third party will be best able to maintain discipline as their members will know that their power is dependent on it. However, presumably the 2 main parties would be able to convince members of the other main party to support a bill with an arguement like "This bill is going to pass no matter what, but if you support it, the "benefits" will be re-directed to your district". Even appealing to their sense that pork should be reduced may work.
 
 IMO, each representative/senator should have an equal share of the budget. What should people who happen to be part of the main party effectively get a larger share of the budget.
 
  Raphfrk
 --------------------
 Interesting site
 "what if anyone could modify the laws"
 
 www.wikocracy.com 
 
  
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