Sorry, I've been busy and I've let this matter stagnate a bit.<div><br></div><div>Yes, I believe that the declaration is either 99% or 100% done. I had hoped to get feedback from a few academics who are non-participants or occasional-participants here before I declared it officially frozen, but that is not going as well as I'd hoped. I'd be willing to try once more with those people before we declare it 100% done, but I would understand if others would rather just go with what we have. Either way, I think that posting it here on the list would be a good step now.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Jameson<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">2011/9/29 Richard Fobes <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ElectionMethods@votefair.org">ElectionMethods@votefair.org</a>></span><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
In cleaning up past Election Method messages I see that this suggestion from Ralph Suter was not answered. He suggests including in our Declaration a list of suggested actions that can be done by people in various (non-government-election?) situations to help adopt our recommended better-than-plurality methods. That list has been a part of the declaration for some time. I included such actions in the draft I wrote, and Jameson Quinn has nicely refined those suggested actions.<br>
<br>
I think the Declaration is done. I don't know what Jameson's plans are for the next step. I suggest at least posting the latest version to this forum because it has been refined significantly since it was last posted here. (I can do so if requested, yet I don't want to interfere with any plans that Jameson has in mind.)<br>
<font color="#888888">
<br>
Richard Fobes</font><div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
On 9/13/2011 1:26 PM, Ralph Suter wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Another option that would require more planning and work but could<br>
attract much more attention and have a vastly greater long-term as well<br>
as short-term impact would be to distribute a news release (possibly<br>
with the donated help of a good PR firm with experience in news release<br>
writing and distribution - ideally, to both US and international print<br>
and online news outlets) announcing the declaration and inviting the<br>
publication of stories derived from the release as well as stories<br>
involving additional reporting and interviews.<br>
<br>
To increase the impact of such a release, it would help if the<br>
declaration included well-thought-out concrete steps that interested<br>
readers could take to help the cause of improving methods used in real<br>
world public elections and other kinds of collective decisionmaking<br>
activities. Suggested steps could include ones involving contributions<br>
of money as well as time to specific activities and programs, including<br>
ones that don't yet exist (such as proposed research and promotional<br>
efforts and organizations) as well as existing ones - everything from<br>
lists like this one that people could join to already established<br>
programs and organizations that people could join or support.<br>
<br>
If distributed this way, the declaration could attract not only much<br>
more attention but could attract the attention of individuals and<br>
organizations (foundations and other kinds) that may be interested in<br>
and able to contribute significant funding to efforts to develop and<br>
promote improved election methods.<br>
<br>
If there is support for the idea of such a news release, I suggest<br>
taking a little more time to develop a list of existing and potential<br>
activities, programs, and organizations to include in the declaration or<br>
(if the list becomes too extensive for that) in an appendix to the<br>
declaration.<br>
<br>
-Ralph Suter<br>
<br>
On 9/13/2011, Jameson Quinn wrote:<br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
The suggestion has come from Warren Smith. His steps are (Warren,<br>
correct me<br>
if I'm wrong):<br>
<br>
1. Write a version of the declaration suitable for publication as an<br>
editorial of an academic journal.<br>
<br>
2. Get it published, preferably (quasi) simultaneously, by a few small<br>
journals.<br>
<br>
3. Go to the journal Science, which published a lower-quality<br>
editorial in<br>
2001, and use that fact to get them to publish it.<br>
<br>
I support this plan, as well as all of Richard's suggestions, but it is a<br>
significant amount of work, and by no means a sure thing.<br>
<br>
Jameson Quinn<br>
<br>
2011/9/13 Richard Fobes<<a href="mailto:ElectionMethods@votefair.org" target="_blank">ElectionMethods@<u></u>votefair.org</a>><br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
> On 9/11/2011 8:19 PM, St?phane Rouillon wrote:<br>
><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
>><br>
>> When and where will the declaration be published?<br>
>><br>
</blockquote>
><br>
> This declaration project was started by Jameson Quinn, and I'm not<br>
sure<br>
> what he has in mind for publishing, and currently he may be busy<br>
monitoring<br>
> the Guatemalan election results,<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Well, aside from the war criminal coming in first place (on youtube<br>
you can<br>
see an old 80s documentary where admits genocide and a subordinate<br>
implicates him in torture and perhaps murder of prisoners), the most<br>
notable<br>
result was the over 12% of blank/spoiled votes. That's obviously<br>
intentional; it's over a third of the first place result, over half of<br>
the<br>
second place one, and more than the (sizable) margin between them.<br>
</blockquote>
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</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br></div>