<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">Adam Tarr wrote in response to my comments on Approval voting:<BR>
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"A few responses:<BR>
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1) People aren't idiots so they will probably only approve one of the front-runners in a race. Understanding this isn't any harder than understanding the LO2E problem, which most people are capable of."<BR>
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If people will only approve one front-runner why bother with Approval ? surely you'll get exactly the same results as with plurality.<BR>
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"2) Parties will tell their supporters how to vote."<BR>
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They will tell them to only approve the candidate of their party- exactly the same as plurality. Anyway people do not always blindly follow the recommendations of the party they support.<BR>
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"3) There are lots of potential strategies, but only the most hairbrained will actually produce bad results with any consistency. People can mix the "above average utility" and the "favorite frontrunner plus" and the "above frontrunner, plus frontrunner maybe" and the "above average expectation" and the "just like I would vote in plurality" strategies to their heart's content, and the final results will probably turn out fine."<BR>
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If you asked the average voter in the street or at the polling station what they understood by " above average utility" mixed with "favourite frontrunner plus" or "above frontrunner plus frontrunner maybe" how many people do think would have the slightest idea what you were talking about ?<BR>
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David Gamble <BR>
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