On Wed, Jun 15, 2005 at 05:25:09PM -0400, Abd ulRahman Lomax wrote: > In a context where the norm is simple plurality, with overvotes resulting > in the ballot being discarded (for the race with extra votes), the simplest > reform is repealing the rule that discards such ballots. This simple change > implements Approval voting, which is potentially a strong reform. > > Further, in a few days, so far, of searching, there seems to be a distinct > lack of cogent arguments for the rule in the first place. As near as I can > tell, the reason for it is a variant on "It seemed like the thing to do at > the time." The rule is clearly very old.
I can think of one important reason. The rule ensures that if there are N valid ballots, summing the number of votes for all candidates yields N. This is a simple check on the integrity of the election process. -- Andrew ---- Election-methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
