On 29.5.2011, at 2.09, James Gilmour wrote: >>> On 27.5.2011, at 10.01, Jameson Quinn wrote: >>> 1. We draw up a statement which details the serious problems >>> with plurality in the US context, and states that there are >>> solutions. > >> Juho Laatu Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 9:43 PM >> Good approach. I have one comment on the target statement. >> Expression "problems with plurality in the US context" >> contains the assumption that the traditional two-party system >> in not the correct solution for the US. > > I would respectfully suggest that this statement is not correct. I don't > think JQ's statement says or implies anything about "the > traditional two-party system". But even if the electors and voters in the > USA wanted and voted only for "the traditional two-party > system", there could be, and probably would be, problems with plurality, even > in the US context. Plurality frequently distorts the > voters' wishes, is inherently unstable, and even when it delivers acceptably > balanced representation overall there are often > "electoral deserts" where one party or the other has almost no representation > despite having significant voting support there, even > when there are only two parties. > > And I think you need to distinguish between the two types of election that > occur in the US context: election to a single-office > (city mayor, state governor, etc); and election to a "representative > assembly" (city council, state legislature with upper and lower > houses, federal legislature with upper and lower houses). These two types of > election present different opportunities for securing > representation of the voters within a system of "representative democracy". > These are more fundamental issues that I would suggest > you need to address, and they are quite independent of any consideration of > the number of parties (or the number of effective > parties) that might come later. > > JG
Ok, I agree that plurality may have problems also within an otherwise well working two-party system. And a two-party country might well have single winner elections that are not partisan and contain several candidates that are not associated with the two parties. Or maybe we want to have a method that allows both parties to nominate more than one candidate. In all these cases we might need also improved methods. Juho ---- Election-Methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
