election-methods@mailman.electorama.com

Technical discussion of election methods

View all threads

Order

RL
Richard Lung
Wed, Jan 10, 2024 6:28 PM

Order

Politics should illuminate not obscure the nature of the vote. Many
times repeated accusation, that a vote for a third-party candidate is “a
wasted vote,” should alert to the fact that there is an order of choice
for candidates.

Similarly, the practical politics of a strategic/tactical vote is an
admission of a first choice or higher-order of choice, than such as two
party candidates only, on offer. But one might have to largely waste
ones vote on a second or lower choice to defeat a least choice.

For those voters, at least, the election is not an election at all, but
a rejection. The two main parties campaigning against a wasted vote are
in fact twisting the voters arm to hold a rejection or exclusion rather
than an election, with a primitive election system (simple plurality)
that is an election for some but an exclusion for others, blackmailing
the electorate into two classes of positive and negative choice. And so
denying the basic democratic principle of equality of choice.

If politics were interested in the truth, there would be an order of
choice in the vote.

Regards,

Richard Lung.

Order Politics should illuminate not obscure the nature of the vote. Many times repeated accusation, that a vote for a third-party candidate is “a wasted vote,” should alert to the fact that there is an order of choice for candidates. Similarly, the practical politics of a strategic/tactical vote is an admission of a first choice or higher-order of choice, than such as two party candidates only, on offer. But one might have to largely waste ones vote on a second or lower choice to defeat a least choice. For those voters, at least, the election is not an election at all, but a rejection. The two main parties campaigning against a wasted vote are in fact twisting the voters arm to hold a rejection or exclusion rather than an election, with a primitive election system (simple plurality) that is an election for some but an exclusion for others, blackmailing the electorate into two classes of positive and negative choice. And so denying the basic democratic principle of equality of choice. If politics were interested in the truth, there would be an order of choice in the vote. Regards, Richard Lung.