[Election-Methods] Partisan Politics

[Fred Gohlke]

Good Afternoon, Juho

Again, I must apologize for my tardiness, but I've been away. The trip 
gave me an opportunity to consider the matter of secrecy in voting from 
a point of view that hadn't occurred to me before.  Before describing 
it, I'd like to make an observation.

Voting secrecy is but one consideration in politics.  If the price of 
secrecy is a system so flawed that a majority of the electorate doesn't 
even bother to participate, I have to question the wisdom of insisting 
on secrecy.  Even so, rightly or wrongly, the secret vote has gained 
considerable currency in our culture and should not be discarded without 
reason.  As I said in an earlier message, I feel the voting process 
should be secret but I'm not a slave to that notion.

While driving and pondering the relationships between the three people 
in a group, I realized

1) if a selection is made, the only person whose vote is unknown is the 
selected person's.

2) if a selection is not made, each person knows how the other two 
voted, because in a group of three people (A, B and C), if A votes for B,

   If C had voted for B, B would have been selected,
     therefore, C must have voted for A

   If B had voted for A, A would have been selected,
     therefore B must have voted for C

This holds in all cases where a selection is not made.  It introduces an 
interesting dynamic into the process.  (Although I usually avoid gender 
references, I will use "he/him/his" in this description to avoid awkward 
phraseology):

A knows C voted for him, so he concentrates his attention of B.  At the 
same time, C can be expected to accelerate his efforts to obtain A's 
support and B will do his best to get C's vote.

Fascinating.

Even though the votes are cast secretly (so no-one's vote is known until 
after the vote is complete), the sessions will be lively.  It wouldn't 
be surprising if the best and worst of our natures were brought out in 
the participants, to the ultimate benefit of all of us.


re: "It is however possible that a party structure will emerge (or stay) 
even if the method itself would not recognize any such structure among 
the candidates.  This may apply to your method too. I think also you 
felt that this is natural and good if not too strong / power seeking."

As you said, it is "... natural (and to some extent even unavoidable) 
that people do group together with other similar minded people".  That 
will happen as naturally among those we elect to represent us as it does 
in the population at large.

The huge difference is that those we select do not owe their election to 
those "similar-minded" people ... they were elected on their own merit. 
  Their association with similar-minded people is voluntary, not compulsory.

However much they may like those they associate with, they are not 
compelled to cede their votes to them.  They don't need campaign funds, 
they don't need the party to "get out the vote", and they have no 
obligation to vote the party line.  They can be persuaded, but they can 
not be coerced.

The difference between that and party politics is incalculable.

Fred