New York Times
Cure for Low Turnout October 29,
2002
In assessing this year's Congressional elections (Week
in Review, Oct. 27), you conclude that we should again expect low
voter turnout because the major political parties increasingly mimic
each other during campaigns, "giving voters a choice between beige
and brown."
Events since my independent presidential campaign in
1980 have only reinforced my belief in the need to reform politics
to expand viable choices across the spectrum. As long as we have
two-choice, winner-take-all elections where the winner must be all
things to at least half the people, today's marketing technology and
expertise will make most campaigns a distasteful concoction of
poll-driven sound bites, negative attacks and avoidance of important
issues.
It's time to adopt instant runoff voting to give
independents and alternative parties a chance to compete without
being "spoilers," and time to begin a national dialogue about the
many forms of proportional representation, in which political
minorities can win a fair share of legislative seats.
John B. Anderson President, Center for Voting and
Democracy Takoma Park, Md., Oct. 28, 2002
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