[Election-Methods] Partisan Politics

[Fred Gohlke]

Good Evening, Juho

re: "... where the political parties break out from their simple role as 
groups of similar minded people and start exercising power outside of 
the role originally planned for them."

That's close.


re: "The problem thus is that since the votes in practice are not secret 
bad mannered people like this drug dealer could make use of that."

There is no requirement that the voting not be secret.  I favor a secret 
vote but left that to be decided by others.  As I said in the outline: 
"They also need transportation and facilities for meeting and voting. 
These are mechanical details."


re: "Maybe the results of the groups of three will be published"

I think they should be.  As I said in the outline, "Furthermore, the 
names of advancing candidates are announced as each level completes. 
Members of the public with knowledge of unseemly acts by an advancing 
candidate can present details for consideration at the next level. 
Since, after the initial levels, the peers also seek advancement, they 
won't overlook inappropriate behavior."


re: "... and in that case everyone can guess everyone else's opinions => 
better vote party x if you plan career in a x minded company."

The three participants in a group do not represent parties, they 
represent themselves.  When you vote for a person, you do so because you 
think that person is your best choice to give you the kind of government 
you desire.  You may, or may not, know what party (if any) they belong 
to.  Your job is to evaluate the person.  If you are cowed because one 
of the people in your group is your boss (unlikely, but certainly 
possible) you will vote like a coward.  If you have the courage of your 
convictions, you will vote for the person you think most likely to give 
you the kind of government you desire ... whether it happens to be your 
boss, or not.


re: "As you can see my concerns and possible improvements that I'd like 
to study are mainly in the areas of privacy of the votes and in 
proportional representation."

As far as I'm concerned, the voting process should be secret. 
Obviously, if one person gets two votes, it is obvious how the other two 
people voted.  Until then, I see no reason why one should be required to 
divulge their vote.

Isn't proportional representation a party concept; the idea that one 
group of partisans should have a number of representatives proportional 
to their part of the electorate?  As long as you think parties are 
necessary, you will have to seek that goal.  The Active Democracy 
concept does much better:  Each person elected represents the same 
number of people ... and I think people are more important than parties, 
by a long shot.

Fred