<div><div dir="auto">That's essentially my concern... I don't think IRV is meaningfully different from FPP (mutual majority is a plus, but the cost, complexity, etc. is a big minus, and the elephant in the room is negative response). The real issue is it's likely to screw over STAR, score, or Condorcet proposals.</div></div><div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Mar 24, 2024 at 12:07 PM Kristofer Munsterhjelm <<a href="mailto:km_elmet@t-online.de" target="_blank">km_elmet@t-online.de</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204)">On 2024-03-20 09:57, Michael Garman wrote:<br>
> To be clear, I am by no means a believer that IRV is the only reform <br>
> worth pursuing, or that it’s anywhere close to the perfect system.<br>
> <br>
> Where Michael and I disagree is on the role of pragmatism. I believe <br>
> that any time an alternative to plurality voting is on the ballot, <br>
> voters should support it. I think the folks in Eugene, Oregon, should <br>
> vote yes on STAR. I think more places should try out approval. Beyond <br>
> those three, I read this list because I enjoy learning about completely <br>
> new and different systems that would be fascinating to see in practice <br>
> somewhere one day. But in a place where citizens are asked for an up or <br>
> down vote on IRV vs. FPTP, I don’t see how you can defend voting for the <br>
> worst possible system because the proposed reform isn’t exactly what <br>
> you’d like.<br>
<br>
What do you think about the following reasoning? Call it the "fool me <br>
twice" problem.<br>
<br>
Suppose that a jurisdiction is considering switching from FPTP to Borda. <br>
The main organization is heavily marketing Borda as the one ranked <br>
voting system, equating the ranked ballot format to Borda, the method.<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, an organization promoting MDDA (majority defeat <br>
disqualification approval) is slowly growing. Someone (call him John) <br>
favors MDDA and thinks that due to Borda's clone problem, it will <br>
quickly be repealed. Then, he reasons, the jurisdiction will think that <br>
ranking equals Borda, so that when some other ranked method is proposed <br>
(MDDA, say), they will remember the failure of Borda that led to its <br>
repeal and say "no; fool me twice, shame on me".<br>
<br>
Suppose for the sake of argument that there is a considerable chance <br>
that Borda would be repealed if it were enacted, and a lesser chance <br>
that MDDA would. Is then John in the right to withhold his support for <br>
Borda? Would it be right for the MDDA organization to try to counter the <br>
Borda organization's marketing by saying more ranked methods exist, even <br>
if doing so reduces the chance that Borda is enacted?<br>
<br>
Note that I'm not asking if you think the fool me twice problem is <br>
likely to happen with IRV. Just whether it's reasonable for someone who <br>
thinks enacting a (to his mind) flawed method can cause a backlash, to <br>
not go for that method.<br>
<br>
-km<br>
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</blockquote></div></div>
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