[EM] Independents in Approval and Score-Voting Primaries

[⸘Ŭalabio‽]

	Message: 	 4

	Date: 	 Sat, 5 Jan 2013 11:12:00 -0500
	From: 	 “Jonathan Denn” <Info at Agreater.Us>
	To: 	 election-methods at lists.electorama.com
	Subject: 	 Re: [EM] Election-Methods Digest, Vol 103, Issue 1
	Message-ID: 	 <6F148BE0-C522-49D5-B4C0-681C632647F6 at aGREATER.US>
	Content-Type: 	 text/plain; charset=us-ascii

> 	This is the biggest "open item" in the work that has to be done. 40% of the electorate are independents, probably centrists. We cannot vote in primaries in almost all states. It's a gaping yaw in a democratic republic. 

	The purpose of primaries in Approval and Score-Voting is to reduce information overload.  The basic idea is thus:

	Although people can always writein candidates, to make it easier for the voters, candidates who can gather the squareroot of the eligible voters to sign a petition appear on the ballot.  Let us look at a typical example:

	We have a score of parties, each with a score of candidates who received the squareroot of the electorate to sign a petition plus a score of independents who received the squareroot of voters to sign a petition.

Total number of Candidates:
	420 candidates

	This is a bit much for voters, so we use primaries so that each party chooses its best candidate.

	This is great, but we still have the problem of information-overload for independents.  I have a rhetorical question for you:

	¿Why not run the independents through a primary too?

	When we hold our party-primaries, the independents primary the independent candidates too.

	Without primaries, voters had to deal with 420 candidates.  Using primaries, voters only have to deal with 20 candidates at the primary and 21 candidates in the general election.

	I recommend that you include runoffs:

	Even with the reduction in candidates from 420 to 21, voters still might be a bit overwhelmed.  This is how I would do it:

	Abstains are negative -1, while approvals are positive +1.

	One has an Approval Primary.  All candidates with positive scores, go onto an Approval runoff.  The top 2 candidates then go onto a top-2-runoff.

	We have a General Approval Election.  Then we have an Approval runoff of all candidates with positive scores.  Then a top-2-runnoff:

	0.	Gather signatures on a petition to get on the ballot (writeins always allowed)
	1.	Approval Primary (writeins always allowed)
	2.	Approval Runoff of candidates with positive vote-totals (writeins always allowed)
	3.	Top-2 Runoff (writeins always allowed)
	4.	Approval General Election (writeins always allowed)
	5.	Approval Runoff of candidates with positive vote-totals (writeins always allowed)
	6.	Top-2 Runoff (writeins always allowed)

	When we upgrade from Approval Voting, we use a range between negative -99 to positive +99 with abstentions being negative -99 with the same runes for Primaries, Runoff and General Elections used for Approval voting:

	0.	Gather signatures on a petition to get on the ballot (writeins always allowed)
	1.	Score-Voting Primary (writeins always allowed)
	2.	Score-Voting Runoff of candidates with positive vote-totals (writeins always allowed)
	3.	Top-2 Runoff (writeins always allowed)
	4.	Score-Voting General Election (writeins always allowed)
	5.	Score-Voting Runoff of candidates with positive vote-totals (writeins always allowed)
	6.	Top-2 Runoff (writeins always allowed)