U.S. Term Limits Weekly Commentary #263
By Paul Jacob
Seems everybody has the right to make a deal except the American voter.
This election season, some voters wanted to boost Ralph Nader's vote count without hurting chances for Gore. So they visited web sites that let Nader supporters living in states where the race was tight trade votes with Gore supporters in other states. But California officials ordered one of the "Nader-trader" sites to shut down, saying it engaged in so-called "vote-brokering."
Voters continued to Nader-trade offline, though -- and what's wrong with that? It's simply practical politics. Elections are *supposed* to work for the voters. Yet we're often afraid to vote for who we really want, for fear of "throwing our vote away."
This election demonstrates the problem. Nader votes were the margin for a Bush win in five states. Buchanan was the margin that gave Gore two states. Probably not what these voters wanted.
There's an easy electronic solution, though: instant runoffs. Say you want Nader to win -- but if Nader loses, you'd rather have Gore than Bush. Under instant runoff, you'd vote for Nader as First Choice, Gore as Second Choice. If no one gets a majority and your First Choice loses, the system instantly gives your vote to your Second Choice.
It's a new idea. You can find out more about it at www.fairvote.org.
Instant runoffs would do a lot for democracy. Shouldn't every one of our votes count as much as possible?
This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.
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The opinions on the latest insanity in Washington expressed in Common Sense are Paul Jacob's and may not represent the position of U.S. Term Limits or U.S. Term Limits Foundation. Paul Jacob's 3 weekly commentaries can be heard on 272 radio stations in 48 states. Subscriptions are FREE, just call, e- mail, fax or mail us, and three new commentaries will be sent to you each week.
E-mail: [email protected] Call: (800) 733-6440 Fax: (202) 379-3010 Write: Common Sense / U.S. Term Limits Foundation / 10 G Street, NE / Suite 410 / Washington, DC / 20002.
To find out more about the term limits movement, visit http://www.termlimits.org
This election season, some voters wanted to boost Ralph Nader's vote count without hurting chances for Gore. So they visited web sites that let Nader supporters living in states where the race was tight trade votes with Gore supporters in other states. But California officials ordered one of the "Nader-trader" sites to shut down, saying it engaged in so-called "vote-brokering."
Voters continued to Nader-trade offline, though -- and what's wrong with that? It's simply practical politics. Elections are *supposed* to work for the voters. Yet we're often afraid to vote for who we really want, for fear of "throwing our vote away."
This election demonstrates the problem. Nader votes were the margin for a Bush win in five states. Buchanan was the margin that gave Gore two states. Probably not what these voters wanted.
There's an easy electronic solution, though: instant runoffs. Say you want Nader to win -- but if Nader loses, you'd rather have Gore than Bush. Under instant runoff, you'd vote for Nader as First Choice, Gore as Second Choice. If no one gets a majority and your First Choice loses, the system instantly gives your vote to your Second Choice.
It's a new idea. You can find out more about it at www.fairvote.org.
Instant runoffs would do a lot for democracy. Shouldn't every one of our votes count as much as possible?
This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.
________________________________________
The opinions on the latest insanity in Washington expressed in Common Sense are Paul Jacob's and may not represent the position of U.S. Term Limits or U.S. Term Limits Foundation. Paul Jacob's 3 weekly commentaries can be heard on 272 radio stations in 48 states. Subscriptions are FREE, just call, e- mail, fax or mail us, and three new commentaries will be sent to you each week.
E-mail: [email protected] Call: (800) 733-6440 Fax: (202) 379-3010 Write: Common Sense / U.S. Term Limits Foundation / 10 G Street, NE / Suite 410 / Washington, DC / 20002.
To find out more about the term limits movement, visit http://www.termlimits.org
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.