Rich McMartin wrote, in part:
>
>Instant Runoff Voting: I sort of like the idea but I fear the Florida
>butterfly ballot effect.
=====
[KB] Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) and punch card voting are two different
kinds of things.
IRV is used to vote for an office where there can be only one winner (e.g.,
mayor or a ward council member). In an IRV election the voter ranks the
candidates (1 for first choice, 2 for second choice, and so on). This
contrasts with what we do now, i.e., vote for one candidate for an office.
The voting (and the kind of result) is what differentiates the election
systems.
The kind of ballot can run the gamut from writing the numbers on a paper
ballot, filling in dots or connecting arrows for optical scanners, pressing
spots on a touch screen, ... or punching out holes on a punch card. The
technology is what differs. (I understand Canada still uses paper ballots
and produces a well-accepted, accurate, hand-counted result within a day of
its national elections.)
In another post, Jon Kelland wrote, in part:
>
> The problem with a proportional representation only system would be the
dominance of parties, and the decline of independent or maverick candidates,
which I see as a serious and debilitating problem. (As far as I know PR
does not work outside of a party schemata).
=====
[KB] Proportional Representation (PR) elections are often party-based.
However, they don't have to be. Cambridge MA has elected its city council
and school board since about 1941 using a nonpartisan PR system of voting
that is similar to IRV. The voter ranks as many candidates as s/he chooses
to on a citywide ballot (1, 2, 3, 4, ...).
Minneapolis, rather larger than Cambridge, has a lot of options to design
our PR elections to improve our representation while maintaining efficiency
in both voting and ballot counting.
For more information on IRV and Proportional Representation, check out the
web sites that Cam Gordon cited: http://www.fairvote.org and
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/polit/damy/prlib.htm . As another founding
and current Board member of FairVote Minnesota, I'd also invite citizens
interested in alternative and fairer voting systems to get in touch with me
for more information.
--Ken Bearman
South Minneapolis, 11-1, HC 3, SD 60
P.S.--FairVote Minnesota is a 501(c)(3) educational organization.
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