tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820814198873126054.post3446551022525829031..comments2023-10-20T05:51:51.625-04:00Comments on The THINK 3 INSTITUTE: Just Democracy?Samuel Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820814198873126054.post-71951357143436619782008-07-23T12:46:00.000-04:002008-07-23T12:46:00.000-04:00As things stand currently, the threshold for indep...As things stand currently, the threshold for independents to win seats under a proportional representation system in this country would have to be set very low, unless you think that more voters would be willing to choose an independent if they only had to aim for, say, 10% of the vote rather than 51%. That may prove to be the case. But based on past performance, even a 5% threshold, except maybe in local elections, might be too much of a challenge.<BR/><BR/>Voter choice already breathes in our politics, by the way, but too many voters seem to suffer from shortness of breath. Any independent candidate could win any election today under the current rules, except for the complacency and brand-name loyalty bred by the American Bipolarchy. Something may need to be done specifically to break down the Bipolarchy before any effort to build up alternative parties can succeed.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820814198873126054.post-20451751554338715102008-07-22T23:10:00.000-04:002008-07-22T23:10:00.000-04:00You skip over the fact that Vanden Heuvel also giv...You skip over the fact that Vanden Heuvel also gives a good plug to proportional representation voting methods which take on winner-take-all elections directly.<BR/><BR/>Also, instant runoff voting doesn't force people supporting third parties and independents to indicate major parties; it just gives them that option. It allows voter choice to breathe in our politics, and that's got to be a good thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com