"Dr. Ernie Prabhakar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:For example, it seems to me that Robert's Rules explicitly require or
assume a one-person/one-vote Plurality type of decision-making, and it
thus (naively) inconsistent with rank-order voting. Is that a fair
assessment? Further, that sort of winner-take-all result seems to lead
to a sort of Duverger's effect on committees.
I suggest that any legislative body is free to take a non-binding ranked
vote on multiple options, tally it using pairwise comparisons, and then do
a traditional up-down vote on the Condorcet winner if one exists. I can't
imagine there being any serious legal barriers to such a practice.
You're right, though that feels a bit cumbersome. More importantly, I think there are non-trivial procedural barriers. From what I remember, everything in Robert's Rules is based on a majority decision. That very need to form a majority is what can lead to unhealthy coalitions. Brian may be willing to take that risk, but I think we need to address it to make this a serious proposal - otherwise those opposed will have a legitimate issue to hold against us.
I think Brian's example of slashdot is an interesting analogy, but again I don't know if it hits the heart of the issue. Slashdot is about ranking *topics* - semi-static articles. I'm talking about changing the rules of human discussion, which is largely about personalities and relationships.
I'm sure there's a way, but as I implied before, I think solving this problem requires as much consideration and thought as the more formal aspects of electoral reform, and that those of us interested in true political reform (vs. mere mathematical analysis) need to face up to that.
-- Ernie P.
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Ernest N. Prabhakar, Ph.D. <DrErnie at RadicalCentrism.org>
RadicalCentrism.org is an anti-partisan think tank near Sacramento, California, dedicated to developing and promoting the ideals of Reality, Character, Community and Humility as expressed in our Radical Centrist Manifesto: Ground Rules of Civil Society <http://RadicalCentrism.org/manifesto.html>
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