Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!oliveb!sun!chiba!khb
From: khb%chiba@Sun.COM (Keith Bierman - Sun Tactical Engineering)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Electoral Systems (Was: Who Controls the Network?)
Message-ID: <84294@sun.uucp>
Date: 6 Jan 89 23:32:05 GMT
References: <2111@brahma.cs.hw.ac.uk>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
Reply-To: khb@sun.UUCP (Keith Bierman - Sun Tactical Engineering)
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 49

In article <2111@brahma.cs.hw.ac.uk> nick@cs.hw.ac.uk (Nick Taylor) writes:
>
>Australian Rules is ....

Thank you for the clarification.

>
>Personally, I don't see why STV could not be used to elect the Electoral
>College in US Presidential elections. It seems absurd that ALL of the votes
>cast by a state in the Electoral College should go to ONE candidate when it
>would be a very simple matter to distribute them to the candidates in the
>same proportions as the popular vote. But why mess about with an Electoral
>College anyway? Why not use the popular vote?

In principal the EC is there to protect us from serious mistakes by
the popular vote. In this last election it would have been wonderful
if the EC had ditched Bush and Dukkais and put in, say, J. Kirkpatrick
and Tip O'Neal. Since the EC seems to feel itself bound to mirror the
popular vote (and most citizens would be shocked if they acted
differently) it should be abolished (or it should do its job). 

>
>I like the NOTA idea but I doubt that many voters would bother to go to the
>trouble of turning up to vote for it. 

If NOTA would result in a new slate of candiates (i.e. losers can't
run in the next round), and if enough NOTA's in a row resulted in the
position being eliminated, I think NOTA would be very popular in many
circles. 

I thought that it was possible for a 
>voter to add a candidate of his/her own choice to the ballot paper in US
>elections anyway. Am I wrong?

Yes it is possible, but it is very hard to get a write in campagin to
work. 
>
>                        GIVE TEXAS BACK TO MEXICO !

#1 Texas left Mexico and established itself as a state before joining
   the US. Thus we could set them "free" but it is beyond our power
   for force them to join with Mexico.

#2 Lincoln et al. established that joining the US is a one way street.
   Once signed up, that bit of geography is stuck forever.

:>
Keith H. Bierman
It's Not My Fault ---- I Voted for Bill & Opus