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

[Jameson Quinn]

Please do your work on the google
doc<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oyJLxI9dciXBbowM5mougnbGHzkL3Ue1QkD8nnMwWLg/edit?hl=en_US>.
If
you understand how, please post the changes here when you're done (to help
involve others in the discussion).

JQ

2011/8/28 Richard Fobes <ElectionMethods at votefair.org>

> 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.
>>>
>> ----
>>
>
>
> ----
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>
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