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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 24, 2011 9:34:55 GMT
Here is the UK we have a referendum next month about whether we want to change the way we elect our members of parliament. We traditionally have the 'first past the post system'...fairly straightforward. The ballot paper has a list of candidates, the voter puts a cross next to the candidate of their choice. The candidate with most votes wins. If there are several candidates this means that the eventual winner may have only received a small percentage of the votes...just more than anyone else. We've been offered an alternative system (Australia has this system I think)..I won't try to explain it because others do it better... www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11243595There is a lot of apathy about. Many people I know aren't even bothering to vote !
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2011 10:45:52 GMT
In the computer age, the preferential system seems like it might finally be efficient, although one fear that I have about such a system is electing somebody that nobody wants. The major parties prefer their own candidate and absolutely not the candidate who opposes everything that they stand for. And that means that if you stick in an extra candidate who is absolutely bland and with no real opinions at all, that person would have a chance of being the second choice of the majority -- and therefore be elected. Or at least that's the way that I have understood it.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 25, 2011 15:40:01 GMT
It does seem rather watered down, half hearted way of doing things....not much improvement on the old system. I am more interested in proportional representation me....
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Post by spindrift on Apr 30, 2011 18:46:03 GMT
me too
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Post by patricklondon on May 1, 2011 12:21:44 GMT
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Post by hwinpp on May 7, 2011 6:26:17 GMT
Complete proportional representation can lead to complete chaos.
That's what the Germans learned from the Weimar constitution in the 20s and 30s.
It the present temporary constitution they have therefore stipulated that a party needs to have at least 5% of the vote and it gives two minorities, the Danes and the Sorbs 2 guaranteed seats (because they will never reach 5%).
It's a bit more complicated than that but that's the gist of it.
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