[EM] (MA-1) A medium of communicative assent

[Raph Frank]

On 9/20/08, Michael Allan <mike at zelea.com> wrote:
>  Variant acts may be proposed.  Variant acts are acts that differ from
>  the originally proposed act.  When a variant act is proposed, the
>  participants do not gain another vote to cast.  Instead they gain a
>  choice of which act to cast their vote for.

I wonder if approval vote might be better here.  Approval gives a
better indication of concensus than plurality.

Perhaps both would be helpful.  Plurality shows the support for a
specific proposal, but approval shows potential compromise options.

>   [9] A secret ballot is a defence against vote buying because it
>      prevents the buyer from verifying compliance.  The voter may take
>      the money, then vote as she pleases.  This makes it a poor
>      investment.
>
>      It will also be a poor investment when the vote is recastable, as in
>      a delegate cascade.  The vote might be public and compliance might be
>      verified, but there is no guarantee of continued compliance.  The
>      voter may take the money from one side, then shift her vote and take
>      it from the other.

Also, if the system is just for communication and doesn't have the
final say on things, then the secret ballot can still be used for
final ratification.