[EM] Fwd: how goes American PR?

Ted Stern araucaria.araucana at gmail.com
Mon Dec 5 12:48:30 PST 2011


On 05 Dec 2011 12:46:41 -0800, Ted Stern wrote:
>
> The simplest PR system:  open list Approval Transferable Vote.
>
> ATF for multiwinner elections:

Correction, ATV.  Blame it on Monday ...

-- Ted

>
> Quota ("easy"):  Q = (Nballots + 1)/(Nseats + 1)
>
> A voter may approve any number of candidates.
>
> Each ballot is initially weighted as 1.0.
>
> Count weighted approval totals.  At same time, count weighted
> approvals coming from truncated ballots (only one standing candidate
> remaining on the ballot).
>
> In each round, seat the candidate with the highest weighted approval
> total (T).  The truncated approval total for that candidate is denoted
> by L.
>
> The amount of vote used up on each ballot that votes for that
> candidate is
>
>        U =  max(Q - L, 0.0) / max(max(T,Q) - L, eps),
>             where eps is a small number > 0, say 1.e-9.
>
> This is just (Q - L) / (T - L), restricted to lie between 0.0 and 1.0.
>
> Since truncated ballots will lose their vote completely (and thus the
> U factor is irrelevant for those ballots), the truncation factor
> adjustment lets untruncated ballots transfer more of their strength.
>
> The rescale factor on each ballot voting for the last seated candidate
> is thus
>
>        F = 1.0 - U
>
> Advantages:
>
> ATF is monotonic and Droop-proportional.
>
> Approval ballot is the simplest format.
>
> With multiple winners, Approval strategy for the approval cutoff is
> less important.  Voters can simply approve of all candidates that they
> feel best represent their positions.
>
> Each round is summable (though the overall election is not), and there
> are only Nseats rounds, unlike STV.
>
> The Truncation sum, L, reduces the vote loss that is usually
> associated with STV.  In fact, the truncation transfer factor
> adjustment could be applied to any quota-based PR method that is
> subject to truncated ballot vote loss.
>
> ATF may not be the most ideal PR , but it would be the simplest to
> implement quickly.
>
> Ted
>
> On 03 Dec 2011 14:31:16 -0800, Jameson Quinn wrote:
>>
>> I left out one of the most important advantages of PAL voting: that it's dead
>> simple for voters. Though you can vote a more-expressive ballot if you want to,
>> a simple bullet vote is enough to give good, proportional but not
>> party-centric, results.
>>
>> Jameson
>>
>> 2011/12/3 Jameson Quinn <jameson.quinn at gmail.com>
>>
>>     Does "American PR" have a specific meaning yet? I'm sure I'll be in favor
>>     of it, whatever PR variant it is; but while I'm still ignorant, let me
>>     guess a little.
>>    
>>     I doubt it's a mixed-member system. They're good, but the US, despite (or
>>     perhaps because of) being one of the most partisan countries around, has
>>     too much suspicion of "party machines" for that to catch on.
>>    
>>     So that leaves ... I guess the most-probable options are global STV or STV
>>     in small multimember districts (3-5 members).
>>    
>>     Again, these are both quite good systems I'd support. But if it's not too
>>     late to offer a suggestion... I'd strongly encourage you to consider
>>     something like PAL representation. It's certainly not the simplest system
>>     there is, but then no PR system is really simple. And as advantages you
>>     get:
>>     -- High potential for 100% continuity (if the statewide gerrymander was
>>     fairly proportional, and if third parties don't pick up any seats). This is
>>     a HUGE advantage when selling to incumbents. I mean, seriously, tremendous.
>>     -- Voters and/or peers have the real power to remove even the most
>>     well-encrusted incumbent if they sour on him or her. That is, it's
>>     voter-centric, not party-centric
>>     -- Almost every voter gets their own local representative WHOM THEY VOTED
>>     FOR. This is absolutely something that would resonate with US voters,
>>     raised on tales of "No taxation without representation".??
>>    
>>     Check it out.
>>    
>>     (And yes, I think that we can work together over PR, even if we don't see
>>     eye-to-eye on single winner systems.)
>>    
>>     Jameson
>>     2011/12/3 David L Wetzell <wetzelld at gmail.com>
>>
>>         American PR is a coming. ??You must decide if you want to keep
>>         quibbling over the best single-winner election rule or push hard for a
>>         better mix of multi and single-winner election rules in the US.
>>        
>>         dlw
>>         ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>         From: Rob Richie <rr at fairvote.org>
>>         Date: Sat, Dec 3, 2011 at 11:05 AM
>>         Subject: Re: how goes American PR?
>>         To: David L Wetzell <wetzelld at gmail.com>
>>
>>         A little slow in getting our American PR-like plans drawn, but we'll
>>         have them done for hte whole country in early 2012 and heat up in our
>>         outreach... getting some related opeds.
>>        
>>         Next year should be a good one for the idea -- ??lots of chances to
>>         talk about it.
>>         Rob
>>
>>         On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 12:26 PM, David L Wetzell <wetzelld at gmail.com>
>>         wrote:
>>
>>             I wonder if tea-partiers unhappy w. the Republican party might get
>>             in on it?
>>            
>>             dlw
>>
>>         --
>>         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>         "Respect for Every Vote and Every Voice"
>>        
>>         Rob Richie
>>         Executive Director
>>        
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-- 
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