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> The two biggest problems in US politics are the two-party system and unproprotional representation. In my opinion, runoff voting, transfer voting, ranked-cho

by sampo 4y ago

> The two biggest problems in US politics are the two-party system and unproprotional representation. In my opinion, runoff voting, transfer voting, ranked-choice voting, are just small fixes that allow the occasional independent candidate to win over the candidates from the two major parties. But, as long as you only choose one candidate from an electoral district, I think the details of the voting system can only matter somewhat. For proportional representation and a multi-party system, you need to elect more than one candidate from an electoral district. At least 5 I think. 5 to 10. Only this way you allow for more that 2 viable political parties, that constantly get some candidates elected, that have viable party organizations and continuity. That are a constant part of the political debates. A two-party system where some outsiders, independent candidates occasionally get elected, is still a two-party system.

spaetzleesser 4y ago
"For proportional representation and a multi-party system, you need to elect more than one candidate from an electoral district. At least 5 I think. 5 to 10." You can apply the proportional factor to a state or the whole country.
hospadar 4y ago
See also: https://thirty-thousand.org/ https://thirty-thousand.org/ General idea being to massively increase the number of reps (presumably adding much more diversity of opinion and nuance to congress). Not specifically about RCV, but lots of great thoughts about how congress might be different. My personal hot take is that RCV + a "maximum citizens per rep" rule would do a lot of good things for congress (and probably weaken the 2-party stranglehold even if it didn't destroy it).
bo1024 4y ago
I agree on the benefits of multiple candidates, but you might be underestimating the possibility of long-term change in the two-party structure due to ranked choice voting. It allows third parties to slowly gain voteshare, power, and influence over time, because in each election, people can express those preferences without worrying about throwing away their votes. I'm not guaranteeing that would happen, but I think it's a likely benefit.

by sampo 4y ago

spaetzleesser 4y ago

"For proportional representation and a multi-party system, you need to elect more than one candidate from an electoral district. At least 5 I think. 5 to 10." You can apply the proportional factor to a state or the whole country.

hospadar 4y ago

See also: https://thirty-thousand.org/ https://thirty-thousand.org/ General idea being to massively increase the number of reps (presumably adding much more diversity of opinion and nuance to congress). Not specifically about RCV, but lots of great thoughts about how congress might be different. My personal hot take is that RCV + a "maximum citizens per rep" rule would do a lot of good things for congress (and probably weaken the 2-party stranglehold even if it didn't destroy it).

bo1024 4y ago

I agree on the benefits of multiple candidates, but you might be underestimating the possibility of long-term change in the two-party structure due to ranked choice voting. It allows third parties to slowly gain voteshare, power, and influence over time, because in each election, people can express those preferences without worrying about throwing away their votes. I'm not guaranteeing that would happen, but I think it's a likely benefit.