[Election-Methods] Simple two candidate election

[Paul Kislanko]

Well, what point were you getting at other than if there's only one issue
you can use median to decide the one issue?

My point is that the example isn't useful. In real elections there are more
alternatives than "set the value for this one item" examples can solve.

Yes, I got your point, but you didn't answer my question. You may think it
is useful to vote a numerical value, but construct an election where the
club members decide how to spend their collective dues along your lines.
With more than one alternative, how do you reduce the election to a single
rating? 

-----Original Message-----
From: election-methods-bounces at lists.electorama.com
[mailto:election-methods-bounces at lists.electorama.com] On Behalf Of rob
brown
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 10:17 PM
To: election-methods at electorama.com
Subject: Re: [Election-Methods] Simple two candidate election

On Dec 20, 2007 7:34 PM, Paul Kislanko <jpkislanko at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> How do you handle the more important question "how should dues be spent?"

Whether that is a more important question or not is beside the point.
It is a different question.  Maybe you could have more votes, deciding
the relative percentages spent on various things, or you can just
elect people to make those decisions.  I don't know.

However, I think it is quite reasonable that in certain situations, it
may be useful to vote on a numerical value, independent of other
issues.  Maybe there could be a vote on what the legal drinking age
is, or what the maximum speed limit is, or how much to pay the
sheriff, or how many cats are allowed to live in a single apartment,
or how much to charge for a fishing license.

I suppose you could bring in all kinds of things to complicate things,
but that seems rather counterproductive unless your intention was to
miss the point I was getting at.

-rob
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