<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><DIV><BR>Kathy Dopp wrote (Sat. Aug.10):</DIV>
<DIV>"Well perhaps there are other voting methods where ranking my first<BR>choice candidate below my last choice candidate helps my first choice<BR>candidate to win more than vice-versa, and I would oppose any method<BR>that did that."</DIV>
<DIV><BR> </DIV>
<DIV>Kathy,<BR>What exactly do mean here by "more than vice-versa"? Obviously in IRV</DIV>
<DIV>the voter probabilistically helps his/her sincere first choice candidate X to win<BR>by ranking X above his/her last choice candidate Y (and for that matter all</DIV>
<DIV>other candidates) massively "more than vice-versa".</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>><I> Out of curiosity, what voting system would you recommend? I'm not saying<BR></I>><I> "don't say anything if you don't have an alternative", I'm just curious.<BR></I><BR>'I am currently not recommending *any* until I have more time and<BR>inclination to sit down to thoroughly study all the alternatives. I<BR>know that IRV is a really bad method as applied to real life<BR>elections, and I suspect that most other voting methods are superior<BR>to IRV in crucial ways that would make them more practical and<BR>desirable."</DIV>
<DIV><BR>My investigation of voting methods has led me to the conclusions that</DIV>
<DIV>(a) the best voting methods are much worse than people new to the</DIV>
<DIV>field tend to assume, and</DIV>
<DIV>(b) there are many more desirable/interesting/useful voting methods</DIV>
<DIV>criteria possible (and proposed) than people tend to assume or are </DIV>
<DIV>aware of.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>These factors make it quite easy for someone who refuses to stand by any</DIV>
<DIV>one method to make propaganda against any given method simply by dwelling</DIV>
<DIV>on and emphasizing its negatives and ignoring (as much as plausibly possible)</DIV>
<DIV>mentioning criteria that it meets.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>This stance of yours leads one to suspect that your real voting methods agenda</DIV>
<DIV>is simply to defend the FPP status quo, and that you are so virulently attacking</DIV>
<DIV>IRV because that is the alternative with the most traction as a practical reform</DIV>
<DIV>proposal.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Chris Benham<BR><BR><BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></div><br>
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