At 03:47 PM 7/20/2005, Dan Bishop wrote:
[...]I think a good solution would be for elections to have two rounds:
1. A qualifying primary, done entirely with write-in ballots, and counted
using Approval. Candidates with a sufficient number of votes would
advance to...
2. A runoff election, using ranked ballots.
Not a bad idea. Runoff elections have an additional advantage: an
opportunity for a reduced field to compete. With fewer candidates, there is
more ability of the electorate to see who they are. (If....)
Write-ins, though, can be a nightmare to count. About two years ago, some
neighbors convinced my wife to run for Town Representative to the School
Committee. No candidates had filed. I voted for her, she voted for herself,
and several neighbors said that they voted for her. When the results came
out, there were a number of names reported as written-in, but my wife's
name was not among them. All of the written-in names had one vote each.
The chairman of the Board of Selectmen, when I asked him, said that he had
seen my wife's name on a ballot. This is a small town (population 1000,
about 600 registered voters.) Anyway, he told me that if she wanted to
serve, just ask the Board and they would appoint her. (He was utterly
unconcerned about the counting error. He knows the Town Clerk. I think his
point was that the purpose of the election was to select an officer, and
since the Board of Selectmen, given the tie vote, would have to appoint
someone anyway, big deal about the vote.) But my wife, in the meantime, had
decided that it would take too much time....
(This town uses plain paper ballots and a "voting machine" which is just a
box with a crank on it, probably built sometime in the 19th century. You
put the ballot in a slot in the top and turn the crank. The device delivers
the ballot to an internal space that is locked. You can't fish ballots out
the top....)
I like the idea of writing in the names, because it creates a level playing
field. But the ballot could be binary coded, candidates could be identified
by number. A list prepared shortly before the election could be provided so
that voters could mark off boxes as shown on the list to identify their
candidate(s). A space would also be provided for the candidate to write in
the name in addition to, or instead of, using the list and the number.
Voting guides could also be published with recommended entries to be made,
so that voters who want to follow a party list can do so....
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