[EM] A design flaw in the electoral system

[Juho Laatu]

On 7.10.2011, at 12.19, Michael Allan wrote:

> Imagine one person is nodding
> in agreement to a proposal, while another is shaking her head.

> We could ask, "What effect did this voter *as such*
> have on the decision that was reached, or anything that followed from
> it?"  In most cases, the answer would be incalculable, tied up in a
> web of cause and effect that plays out endlessly.  We might say it was
> "boundless", or that it hovered somewhere between zero and infinity.
> 
> In further reply to Juho, I would offer this indeterminacy as an
> alternative to the apparent dilemma of no effect vs. decisive effect.

Yes, there are many additional factors. Already a vote without any discussions between voters can be seen as a part of a complex process. At lest the input that the voter got was complex, even if the voter did not produce any "output" in his environment. Also the margin of the victory will be meaningful like Andrew Myers said. And the voter himself could be already thinking about the next election. In order to win then, every single additional vote in this election may be important.

Juho