Content Authored by The Non-Majority Rule Desk
1 - 10 of 14 results
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Election Wonk: Growing trend of plurality wins in governors' races
- Posted: May 7, 2012
- Author(s): Lindsey Needham, The Non-Majority Rule Desk
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, Home, FairVote
Over the last two years, a staggering 28% of gubernatorial races were awarded to candidates who failed to win 50% of the vote. With so many state executives in power without the expressed consent of the majority, we have to question whether our system successfully functions to deliver the will of the people.
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Third Parties and the Spoiler Effect In the 2012 Election
- Posted: March 1, 2012
- Author(s): The Non-Majority Rule Desk, Joe Witte
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, Presidential Elections, Research & Analysis, Home
As the 2012 presidential election approaches, it's clear that while many American voters are ready for a third party, America's election system is not.
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Why Approval Voting is Unworkable in Contested Elections
- Posted: July 30, 2011
- Author(s): The Non-Majority Rule Desk
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, FairVote
Approval voting is a method of voting to elect single winners that has adherents among some voting theorists, but it is unworkable in contested elections in which voters have a stake in the outcome. Once aware of how approval voting works, strategic voters will always earn a significant advantage over less informed voters. This problem with strategic voting far outweighs any other factor when evaluating the potential use of approval voting in governmental elections - and is also true of range voting, score voting, the Borda Count and Bucklin voting.
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The New York 26th District Special Election: The Spoiler Effect in Action
- Posted: June 13, 2011
- Author(s): The Non-Majority Rule Desk, Katherine Sicienski
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting
As debate subsides on the impact of the recent special election in New York's 26th congressional district, it's time to step back and examine more fundamental dilemmas within the election process as revealed by this election.
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From the "Non-Majority Rule" Desk: Post-Election Wrap-Up, IRV in Oakland, and Looking to 2012
- Posted: November 23, 2010
- Author(s): Chris Marchsteiner, The Non-Majority Rule Desk
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting
The counting and recounting of ballots in the 2010 elections is nearly over. In a final wrap-up blog from the Non-Majority Rule desk, we review the role of so-called “spoilers” in a few more very close elections. We also offer a preview of what’s in store in 2012, starting with the wide-open contest for the Republican nomination, and highlight media attention to a city offering a better means to elect winners: Oakland, with its ranked choice system of instant runoff voting.
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From the "Non-Majority Rule" Desk: Election Day Coverage of Non-Majority Winners and Spoilers
- Posted: November 3, 2010
- Author(s): Chris Marchsteiner, The Non-Majority Rule Desk
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting, Reforms
Whether you are registered as a Democrat, Republican, independent, or third party, today should be a day for reflection on the flaws that obstruct true democracy in the United States.
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From the "Non-Majority Rule" Desk: Pre-Election Roundup for Races with Potential Spoilers, Democrats' Dirty Tricks, and Howard Dean's Support for Majority Winner Elections
- Posted: October 27, 2010
- Author(s): Chris Marchsteiner, The Non-Majority Rule Desk
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting
In our final pre-election blog from the non-majority rule desk, evidence of the spoiler effect in this election cycle is still strong: many races remain too close to call.
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From the "Non-Majority Rule" Desk: Plurality Rules Cause Voters to Abandon Their True Preferences
- Posted: October 20, 2010
- Author(s): Chris Marchsteiner, The Non-Majority Rule Desk
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting
As November approaches, several major races for governor and U.S. Senate have three candidates polling in double digits, with no candidate close to a majority. That fact and likely ultimate outcome in several races shows the defects of a plurality, vote-for-one system where the majority can split its votes and lose. But plurality voting also creates an ongoing problem for voters who end up abandoning their true preferences.
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From the "Non-Majority Rule" Desk: Fake Third Party Candidates, Meek's Mixed Support, and the Unusual Cases of Illinois and Minnesota
- Posted: October 13, 2010
- Author(s): Chris Marchsteiner, The Non-Majority Rule Desk
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting
There’s no shortage of news at the non-majority rule desk. The lead story this week was yet another instance of faux third party candidates, this time in a New Jersey U.S. House race.
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From the "Non-Majority Rule" Desk: Independent Presidential Candidates, the Spoiler Effect, and Party Betrayal
- Posted: October 5, 2010
- Author(s): Chris Marchsteiner, The Non-Majority Rule Desk
- Categories: Ranked Choice Voting
It was another notable week here at the non-majority desk, including nationally prominent ruminations about third parties and independents, including Thomas Friedman of the New York Times predicting an independent presidential bid in 2012 and FiveThirtyEight.com's Nate Silver suggesting such a campaign could succeed.