[Election-Methods] USING Condorcet

[Dave Ketchum]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [RangeVoting] Wikimedia adopts the Schulze method

On Jun 29, 2008, at 4:27 , Abd ul-Rahman Lomax wrote:

  > While Range *might* have made a difference, probably not. The problem
  > with Condorcet methods with many candidates is one of voter
  > ignorance. This is the problem that Carroll addressed with Asset
  > Voting. You really only need to know one good candidate, it all
  > follows from that. He was using Asset in connection with STV, dealing
  > with the problem of exhausted ballots and he realized that the reason
  > so many ballots were exhausted was that the job of ranking many
  > candidates was too much of a burden for voters, who do have other
  > things to do!

Agreed we need to think of voter needs.

Asking for enough signatures on a nomination petition, and forbidding a
voter signing more than one for any one race will limit candidates while
ensuring that there is backing behind those who do get nominated.

There can be a page on the internet for each race, with each candidate
allowed to provide a resume.  Space need not be large, for such a resume
can link to the candidate's more complete resume.

Bullet voting has received unreasonably nasty words.  Why? There can
easily be one best candidate seen by a voter, with no other worth
approving if that one loses:
       Incumbent does well and deserves another term.
       Major opponent is only one with any chance of winning - why not
bullet voting for this one's backers?

Condorcet provides for ranked approval for more than one candidate.  This
DOES NOT justify trying to get voters to rank more than they approve of.
And, while I write above for voters to learn about other candidates, I do
not see demanding that they try harder to learn about strays.

"Majority" needs thought.  When is an election so incomplete that it needs
redoing?  Condorcet lets voters rank all that they approve of.  When does
it really get so bad that this is not enough?
-- 
  davek at clarityconnect.com    people.clarityconnect.com/webpages3/davek
  Dave Ketchum   108 Halstead Ave, Owego, NY  13827-1708   607-687-5026
            Do to no one what you would not want done to you.
                  If you want peace, work for justice.