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In a one-turn voting system, polls are very useful as a kind of "turn zero". The important point is that one should always tell the poller who they actually wan
by Krssst 2y ago
In a one-turn voting system, polls are very useful as a kind of "turn zero". The important point is that one should always tell the poller who they actually want to vote for (a possible third candidate) so that if this candidate actually stands a chance it can be seen in the poll and be voted for. In the actual election, if you see your third candidate has no chance you can vote for someone that can actually win.
Changing the voting system seems much more important than trying to mess with the polls. However, regulating polls to enforce their trustworthiness is probably a good idea since they may have so much power.
In France the presidential election is two-turns and even then I think we need polls since there are so many candidates in the first turn diluting votes.
- jfengel 2y agoThe US is really a two-turn voting system. The first turn is the primaries. It's quite different from the French presidential election, but the first round is open to all candidates. A non-aligned candidate would have to formally join a party to run for the nomination, but that's a matter of paperwork, not ideology. If they win office, they owe the party no obligations at all. The French system may well be preferable, but the American system really does have more opportunities for non-aligned candidates than people realize. They tend to dismiss the primaries as unimportant, but they really are a first round of voting -- that's why they're called "primary". Anybody who wants influence can start there, rather than jumping straight into the general election.
- yespocolypse 2y ago[dead]
- paulryanrogers 2y agoWhy not ranked choice?
- Krssst 2y agoI would love to have ranked choices as a voting system in France. It tends to promote moderate candidates but because it would change the outcome of elections so significantly it's probably almost impossible to set up (all parties that would lose from it would go all-in in opposing such a change).