<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div><span>Hi,<br></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> <div class="yui_3_7_2_17_1359473466696_62" style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div class="yui_3_7_2_17_1359473466696_63" style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir="ltr"> <font face="Arial" size="2"> <hr size="1"> <b><span style="font-weight:bold;">De :</span></b> Gervase Lam <gervase.lam@group.force9.co.uk><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">À :</span></b> election-methods@lists.electorama.com <br> <b><span
style="font-weight: bold;">Envoyé le :</span></b> Dimanche 27 janvier 2013 16h49<br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Objet :</span></b> [EM] The successful repeal of Approval by the Dartmouth Board of Trustees<br> </font> </div> <br>I was looking through the Approval Voting article and noticed that it<br>mentioned that in 2009 the Dartmouth Board of Trustees had Approval<br>successfully repealed.<br><br>It quotes an article in the web saying: "<span style="font-weight: bold;">When the alumni electorate<br>fails to take advantage of the approval voting process</span>, the three<br>required Alumni Council candidates tend to split the majority vote,<br>giving petition candidates an advantage."<br><br></div></div></blockquote></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><div class="yui_3_7_2_17_1359473466696_62" style="font-family: times new
roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="yui_3_7_2_17_1359473466696_63" style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I think that quote states the issue exactly.<br><br></span></div></div><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"><div class="yui_3_7_2_17_1359473466696_62" style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="yui_3_7_2_17_1359473466696_63" style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br>There is a link to the article.<br><br><<a href="http://thedartmouth.com/2009/04/03/opinion/verbum/" target="_blank">http://thedartmouth.com/2009/04/03/opinion/verbum/</a>><br><br>Can anybody give any further background on this? The details in the<br>article look a bit
sparse.<br><br>I think that the reason for the Approval failure was due to the "three<br>required Alumni Council candidates". But I don't really know.<br><br>Can somebody comment in further detail on why Approval was unsuccessful<br></span><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">in this case?</span><br></span></div></div></blockquote></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br> </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">I don't have any knowledge of this outside the article but it sounds like voters</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">are either not adequately informed about candidate viability or weren't using</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial;
background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">ideal strategies.</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">The fact that they had to nominate a minimum number of candidates should</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">not pose a problem for Approval provided that voters are informed and use</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">good strategy.</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial;
background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">To be more specific, it sounds like those not voting for petition candidates</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">had no idea they needed to be concerned about them winning. If among the</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">three nominated candidates nobody was even getting majority approval <br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">from among "non-petition candidate voters" then most likely that also reflects</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">badly on the strategies voters used.</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family:
Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">But that depends on an issue space assumption (or something similar)... If</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">there is no issue space and everyone just voted for their favorite, it could be bad</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">information, but it could also simply be something that can happen under Approval,</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">that nobody feels it's worth propping up one's second choice.<br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial;
background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">It does sound like the Board of Trustees did not like the winners, but I</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">certainly don't get the impression that the winners were "good" ones. If Approval</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">doesn't work in some setting then I guess you have no choice but to not use</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">it.<br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0,
0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">Kevin</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><br></div> </div></body></html>