[EM] Approval reducing to Plurality

[Dave Ketchum]

On Aug 30, 2010, at 4:56 AM, Raph Frank wrote:

> One of the things that the Burr dilemma assumes is that the voters are
> split into 2 groups and each group rates their candidates as vastly
> superior to any candidate from the other side.

When I see clones I think of them as such, and treat them alike if  
possible.
>
> However, in practice, that isn't true, at least for many people.
> Approval (and condorcet) shifts power from the extremes towards the
> centre.

???  Anyway, different methods result in different thoughts:
      Plurality - pick the best among those who might win.  If all  
there is is the bottom of the barrel, relax my demands as to who might  
qualify.
      Approval - relax my demands, adding any others I like.
      Condorcet - - relax some more, including any I see as worth  
ranking above the truly bad.
>
> Many voters probably wouldn't care which party wins the seat if the
> choice is between 2-3 centrists.

Disagreed - being of my party is a desirable attribute - just not the  
only topic.
>
> Ofc, it matters a lot if you are one of the candidates, but matters
> much less to society.
>
> With party politics, it does matter which party wins the majority,  
> though.
>
> What is nice about approval is that even if each candidate is a
> centrist, the "menu" can be different in each district.   You don't
> just get the same 2-option menu in every district.

I make no sense of this last!  Anyway, as a  voter, I get one menu to  
vote from.