Proportional systems are certain to give challengers their share of the pie. And that’s possible for most state and city governments that are willing to use at-large elections. But many setups in the US require […]

Curious readers can learn more about Approval Voting at http://www.approvalvoting.org

No way will Obama or Romney permit another candidate into the debate. No Debate is surely the best book on the Commission of Presidential Debates. I highly recommend it:
No Debate: […]

This polling exclusion has further consequences. Debate organizations are required to use “objective criteria” to decide who gets in. Frequently, the chosen criterion is polling support. But how do you show […]

As long as we have a voting system that allows the “spoiler” effect to occur, people will lack incentive to even research Independents and 3rd parties. To provide that incentive, voters need a voting method that […]

That Anderson v. Celebrezze case is a goldmine for quotes:

“There is, of course, no reason why two parties should retain a permanent monopoly on the right to have people vote for or against them. . . .

“By […]

Frank really drives the point home that Approval Voting offers something for everyone.

@Steve
Your point on 2 USC 2c really hits the nail on the head. While PR (for the House) is constitutional, it is still Federally Prohibited. Every PR system requires multi-member districts.
Article 1 Sec 3 […]

Canada doesn’t use any PR system. It uses winner-take-all just like the US. Why does it have more than two parties? It gives parties access to debates and the ballot. It also has more representatives per capita […]

Another concern that AE has is its voting procedure. Its rules state that its eligible nominees (whomever that will be) will go through a sequence of runoffs using Plurality.

It’s quite odd that AE prefers to […]

It’s also worthwhile to note that the German Pirate Party uses Approval Voting for its internal nominations. That’s an easy way for any party to put out stronger candidates. The German Pirate Party is being […]

It’s also worthwhile to note that the German Pirate Party uses Approval Voting for its internal nominations. That’s an easy way for any party to put out stronger candidates. The German Pirate Party is being smart.

Interestingly, however, Egypt will still have 13 candidates on its ballot. Its ballot access law requires 30,000 signatures. That’s about 0.12% of its registered voters. I’m not commenting on whether the ten […]

Americans Elect has created a platform for an Independent ticket to side step the ballot-access barrier. And that’s not a mild statement. But there’s still the wasted vote fear inherent with Plurality Voting. This […]

There’s no doubt that third parties exist in the US. But I don’t think mere existence is enough for the media to start feeling any obligations for their inclusion. And that stems from the artificially low support […]