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<pre>Kristofer:<br><br>I'd said:<br><br><br>> The solution: Choose someone honest, as your proxy. That's a big difference from<br>> ordinary representation. You, and you only, choose your proxy.<br>> <br>> If you don't think anyone is honest, then don't use a proxy.<br><br>I should add: If proxy-honesty is a problem, then remember that your proxy could be anyone--<br>Your best friend, your spouse, your uncle, your father or your uncle or grandfather. Maybe<br>your college instructor. It could be a leader of your political party, or a candidate<br>of that party, or any member of that party, etc.<br><br>You replied:<br><br>So the problem is really one of abrupt change (whether a ballot should <br>be public or secret)<br><br>[endquote]<br><br>No, the question of secret ballot isn't a problem. Your voter ID number is<br>anonymous. No one knows what person has what voter ID number. Yes, the system <br>knows if you designate a proxy, but it only knows that the person with that _number_<br>designated a particular proxy. It doesn't know the name of the person who voted<br>a certain way or designated a certain other voter ID number as proxy. Of course neither<br>does it know who has that number that you designate as proxy.<br><br>The ballot is entirely secret.<br><br>You continued:<br><br>You would <br>want a proxy with lots of power to be accountable<br><br>[endquote]<br><br>Accountable to whom? When designating the proxy, you do so because you agree with hir,<br>and are willing for hir to vote for you on everything on which you don't vote.<br><br>I hadn't considered this matter before, but, in order for the system to know how your proxy<br>voted, of course you must designate hir by number. But then you know the voter I.D. number of<br>a voter (your proxy), so hir secret-ballot is no longer secret. But that isn't as bad as it<br>might at first sound: Have you ever told anyone how you voted. Your electoral system may have<br>a secret ballot, but you probably don't keep your voting or your political opinions secret from<br>your best friends and relatives.<br><br>As for accountability, since it was necessary to designate your proxy by number, and since the system<br>knows how each number voted, then it could be allowed for you to inquire about how your proxy<br>voted on a particular issue. You don't name hir by name. You can't do that for any voter ID number--<br>only one that is your proxy. Of course you don't make the inquiry under your name, but only via <br>your number. Then, the vote of that proxy is posted somewhere, where you can read it anonymously.<br><br>Anyway, your proxy may or may not have lots of power. It might just be your spouse, who isn't anyone's<br>proxy but yours. And if you don't trust your political party or your candidate enough to choose them as<br>your proxy, then you might want to reconsider about whether you want to vote for that party's candidates.<br><br>You continued:<br><br>; but on the other <br>hand, there's also a reason we have a secret ballot so that those that <br>don't have much power aren't coerced or bribed to give the little power <br>they have to those who have power already.<br><br>[endquote]<br><br>Proxy DD has a secret ballot. No one knows what person has your voter I.D. number. No one knows<br>what person has your proxy's voter I.D. number. All the system has is the voter I.D. number of the proxy. S/he<br>therefore can't be bribed or blackmailed.<br><br>You continued:<br><br>Proxy democracy then implicitly values transparency at the high end<br><br>[endquote]<br><br>Yes there could transparency at the "high" end, in the sense that you can anonymously read how a proxy<br>with a certain number voted on an issue, by requesting that that information be posted.<br><br>But if that were a problem, it would ok to drop the provision for checking on a proxy's vote. After<br>all, you can choose someone you trust as proxy. On the other hand, the request for an opportunity<br>to anonymously read about how the proxy with a certain voter I.D. number voted on a certain issue<br>doesn't seem to violate anyone's privacy. Maybe there could be a limit on how often the request<br>could be granted.<br><br><br><br>You continued:<br><br> over <br>privacy at the low end (because it can't be otherwise, unless I'm <br>missing something).<br><br>[endquote]<br><br>The system would be entirely anonymous at the low end too, via the anonymous voter <br>I.D. number.<br><br>You continued:<br><br>I don't know if that will be a problem in practice, <br>because nothing like proxy democracy has actually been tried, but this <br>priority in itself might be enough to get some people to think twice <br>before supporting it.<br><br>[endquote]<br><br>I'm not sure what problem you're referring to. The Proxy DD that I suggest<br>has complete anonymity for everyone, at all levels. It could also have<br>a provision to anonymously check, using hir voter I.D. number, on how a proxy voted on<br>a particular issue. The answer to your request would be posted somewhere, where it could<br>be read anonymously. Other people could read it too? So what? No one else knows who<br>has that voter I.D. number.<br><br>Mike Ossipoff<br><br></pre> </div></body>
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