Re:Let Math Save Our Democracy
by jacques_chester on Sunday December 06, 2015 @09:23AM
(#10685306)
I don't agree. It looks a lot like a primary held after an election. It retains one of the core problems with primaries, which is that they are a voluntary vote.
Australia has mandatory voting; Hotelling's Law causes the major parties to consistently converge on the median voter.
Voluntary voting radically changes the dynamics. The more apathetic the median voter is, the more powerful the motivated outliers are. The more powerful the outliers are, the more discouraged the median voters become, creating a nasty feedback loop.
If anything, the major reform I'd introduce in the USA would be compulsory voting. It's also the least likely to be introduced, given the prevailing political mythology.
Australia has mandatory voting; Hotelling's Law causes the major parties to consistently converge on the median voter.
Voluntary voting radically changes the dynamics. The more apathetic the median voter is, the more powerful the motivated outliers are. The more powerful the outliers are, the more discouraged the median voters become, creating a nasty feedback loop.
If anything, the major reform I'd introduce in the USA would be compulsory voting. It's also the least likely to be introduced, given the prevailing political mythology.