Bart Ingles > Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 5:32 AM > I recall reading somewhere that the technically correct, if > not common, usage is to have exactly two alternatives or any > number of options.
I suspect this restrictive definition fell out of common use many years ago. I don't have on-line access to the OED so cannot check for dates. > If so, the name 'Alternative Vote' is > almost a Freudian slip. I don't know who first coined this term or in what circumstances. Again, the OED (or an equivalent with dated citations) would help. An "Alternative Vote Bill" (for IRV without restriction on number of preferences marked) was introduced into the UK Parliament in 1930, but the term may have been in use well before that. James ---- Election-methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
