[EM] Voting reform statement; a clearer and more inspiring version

[Richard Fobes]

I'll try to find a balance.  I too recognize the importance of starting 
by educating voters through non-governmental elections -- so that later 
it will be much easier to get fairer election methods adopted in 
governmental elections.  Yet I was wondering if maybe this explanation 
about Roberts Rules of Order was too long, and based on the feedback 
I'll try to shorten it.  Also I think I can merge it with another 
request to cover multiple rounds of voting, which is not yet covered -- 
and which also is important.

The other two paragraphs I expect to keep in the next draft -- at the 
end as a part of the summary -- but they can be removed if they prove to 
be disliked.

I'll start working on the next draft. It will be longer than the first 
because of all the additions that were requested, but fortunately I 
expect to be able to shorten it in a few places.

Richard Fobes


On 8/28/2011 2:13 PM, Ralph Suter wrote:
> Even if improving public elections is the statement's primary aim, that
> needn't be its only aim -- nor, I'm convinced, should it be.
>
> One point I've tried to make is that one of the best practical means for
> improving the prospects for reforming difficult-to-change public
> elections would be to promote the use of alternative voting and
> representation methods for use in non-public elections and other kinds
> of decisionmaking processes (both public and non-public), including not
> only formal ones such as organizational and formal meeting elections and
> decisions but also informal ones that involve small and temporary groups
> -- and for not only critically important decisions such as presidential
> elections and constitutional referendums but also much less important
> decisions such as groups of friends and co-workers deciding where to eat
> lunch together. (For the latter, I believe approval voting and other
> quick and simple methods are, in virtually all cases, indisputably
> better than more complicated and time-consuming though maybe technically
> superior ones.)
>
> The important things to keep in mind regarding this point are, first,
> that it is much easier to experiment with alternative voting and
> representation methods in other than public elections and, second, that
> doing so has the great added advantage of helping educate people about
> alternative methods and (hopefully) helping persuade much larger numbers
> of people that some alternative methods would be great improvements over
> plurality voting and single-representative legislative districts for use
> in public elections.
>
> -RS
>
> On 8/28/2011 12:45 PM, Dave Ketchum wrote:
>> I question adding this collection of paragraphs to the major
>> declaration, which seems more aimed at improving public elections.
> ----