Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!isishq!doug
From: doug@isishq.FIDONET.ORG (Doug Thompson)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Electoral systems (Was: Big Brother)
Message-ID: <1107.23C14F12@isishq.FIDONET.ORG>
Date: 4 Jan 89 03:41:47 GMT
Organization: International Student Information Service -- Headquarters
Lines: 37


 
 M It> UFGATE newsin 1.19 
 M It> 
 M It>In the US, this probably woulnd't change much - the press doesn't seem 
 M It>to realize that there are more than two parties. However, it would 
 M It>certainly help solve the "Voting against the other person" syndrome 
 M It>(polls showed that roughly 50% of the people voting for either Bush or 
 M It>Dukakis were actually voting against Dukakis or Bush). Care to comment 
 M It>on how it would effect the Canadian system? 
 
In the last election a lot of people voted against the government 
policy. About 59% actually. But two parties split that vote. The 
government earned 41% of the popular vote and gained a majority in 
parliament, while the two main opposition parties split the remaining 
59%.  
 
If the voter could rank a number two choice, and have his vote go 
there if his number one ended up at the bottom, then Canada would not 
have the same government today.  
 
Personally though, i like the way France does it. If there is not a 
clear majority after the election, they hold a run-off election, etc., 
until one candidate emerges with a clear majority. 
 
 


--  

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