OUR BUSTED ELECTIONS

BIASED PLURALITY VOTING SYSTEM

UNFAIRLY FAVORS THE MOST DIFFERENT CANDIDATE (more)

BIASED VOTING BLOCKS OPPOSITION

UNFAIRLY DIVIDES THOSE OPPOSING A CANDIDATE (more)

BROBDINGNAGIAN BELIEFS

NAIVE CANDIDATES THINK GOVERNMENT IS OMNIPOTENT (more)

LIES, SLURS, AND NAMECALLING

MUST STEAL PLURALITY VOTES TO GET THEM (more)

BROBDINGNAGIAN PROMISES

NAIVE VOTERS VOTE FOR IMPOSSIBLE PROMISES (more)

WINNER-TAKE-ALL DELEGATES

UNFAIRLY CONTROL PARTY CONVENTION VOTES (more)

EACH STATE HAS DIFFERENT RULES

UNFAIR BIAS ON PARTY CONVENTION VOTES (more)

SUPERDELEGATES

UNFAIRLY TAKE VOTES AWAY FROM VOTERS (more)

PARTY-SELECTED DELEGATES

UNFAIRLY KEEP VOTERS FROM VOTING (more)

CONTESTED PARTY CONVENTION

UNFAIRLY DESTROYS PEOPLE'S VOTES (more)

SLANTED COVERAGE BY THE PRESS

NEWSMEN WANT IMPOSSIBLE PROMISES FOR THEMSELVES (more)

MINOR PARTIES BIAS PLURALITY VOTE

THEY STEAL VOTES FROM SIMILAR CANDIDATES (more)

STRAIGHT-PARTY VOTING FUNCTION

UNFAIRLY BIASES VOTE ON LOWER OFFICES (more)

WINNER-TAKE-ALL ELECTORS

UNFAIRLY BIAS THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE (more)

FEW PEOPLE LIKE THE WINNER

THE UNFAIR ELECTIONS ELIMINATED THE BEST (more)

"BOATY McBOATFACE"

THE PLURALITY VOTING SYSTEM GONE EXTREMELY WRONG

In early 2016, the British National Environmental Research Council (NERC) held an Internet contest to name their new polar research vessel. After a period of collecting several thousand suggested names submitted by the public and then another period of taking a vote to determine the winner, they announced the winner.

The overwhelming winner with over 18000 votes was "Boaty McBoatface." This was a name suggested by a DJ as a joke. The second place name got fewer than half that many votes.

What went wrong? The Plurality Voting System went wrong:

  1. The Plurality Voting System (vote for only one) malfunctions whenever more than two choices on the ballot. In this case, there were thousands.
  2. The Plurality Voting System unfairly favors the choice most different than the others when more than two run. So "Boaty McBoatface" was probably the choice most different than the others.

The NERC decided to repeat the contest, but without the vote. Their officials would pick the winner.

The page author thought of a good name: "New Fram." Fram was the name of the ship used by Fridtjof Nansen in his attempt to reach the North Pole in the 1890s. Roald Amundsen also used Fram for his 1910s trip to be first to reach the South Pole.

HOW CAN WE FIX THE ELECTIONS?

PERMANENTLY ABOLISH THE BIASED PLURALITY VOTING SYSTEM

The "vote for only one" Plurality Voting System biases the elections to favor the candidate most different from the other candidates. Replace it with the fair Independent Voting System. This will remove most of the problems with our elections. It can even remove the need for primary elections.

STOP TEACHING SCHOOL CHILDREN THAT GOVERNMENT CAN DO ANYTHING

Government is not omnipotent. The problem is that too many schoolteachers believe government is omnipotent because they want the Brobdingnagian benefits the liberals are promising to provide.

END THE LIES, PEJORATIVES, INNUENDO, AND NAMECALLING

Replacing the Plurality Voting System with the Independent Voting System will get rid of the lies, slurs, and namecalling. These cheap shots will not gain the candidates anything, because votes can't move from candidate to candidate in the Independent Voting System.

TEACH PEOPLE THAT GOVERNMENT CAN'T PROVIDE FREE STUFF

When government provides "free" goods and services, it costs everyone in higher taxes. "The rich" can't pay for it because there are very few rich people. There is not enough money in the world to pay for some of the things candidates promise. And government can't create any wealth.

ABOLISH WINNER-TAKE-ALL DELEGATES

If there must be delegates, they should either be elected proportionally or be elected by congressional district. Winner-take-all is nothing but a party leader grab for power.

REQUIRE UNIFORM STATE PRIMARY RULES

The best solution is a nationwide primary. Also, with the Independent Voting System, no primary is needed. The Independent Voting System always picks the candidate who pleases the most people. All candidates can run at the same time.

ABOLISH SUPERDELEGATES

If there must be delegates, they should either be elected proportionally or be elected by congressional district. Voters must select the delegates.

ABOLISH PARTY-SELECTED DELEGATES

If there must be delegates, they should either be elected proportionally or be elected by congressional district. Voters must select the delegates.

HAVE A UNIFORM RULE FOR CONTESTED PARTY CONVENTIONS

Using the Independent Voting System at the convention should solve the problem, because delegates could vote for multiple candidates.

STRICTLY PROHIBIT ALL SLANTED COVERAGE BY THE PRESS

For freedom of the press to exist, the press must not take sides. The purpose of the press is to report the news, not make the news. The fact that reporters want some of the promises candidates make should not keep them from properly doing their jobs without bias.

GIVE MINOR PARTIES VOTING EQUALITY

Replacing the Plurality Voting System with the Independent Voting System will get rid of the vote-splitting caused by minor parties. It should also get rid of the need for requiring signature petitions to get on the ballot.

ABOLISH ALL FORMS OF A STRAIGHT-PARTY VOTING FUNCTION

Replacing the Plurality Voting System with the Independent Voting System will get rid of the Straight-Party Voting Function, since it can't exist in the Independent Voting System.

GIVE US A WINNER PEOPLE LIKE

Replace the Plurality Voting System with the Independent Voting System, elect all delegates and electors by district or proportionally, and keep the press neutral. These will give us elections that choose better candidates.

MAP OF VOTER POWER TO ELECT
voter power

Hue denotes observed defects. Brightness denotes candidate density. The chaos is obvious.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH WHAT WE HAVE?

THE BIASED PLURALITY VOTING SYSTEM

The "vote for only one" Plurality Voting System causes all of these troubles:

  1. Totally malfunctions whenever more than two candidates run.
  2. Favors the candidate most different from the others.
  3. Disfavors candidates who are similar to other candidates.
  4. Candidates have to take votes from other candidates to win.
  5. Blocks a majority opposing a candidate from preventing his election.
  6. Causes the candidates to use lies, innuendo, pejoratives, and namecalling.
  7. Often favors extremists over other candidates.
  8. Prevents more than two parties from existing.

PEOPLE ARE TAUGHT AS CHILDREN THAT GOVERNMENT CAN DO ANYTHING

Government doesn't have the power to do anything it wants to do. But schoolteachers want it to have the power to do anything, so they can get free stuff from government.

Things that government cannot do:

  1. Government can't create any wealth
  2. Government can't create any jobs
  3. Government can't be any size it wants to be
  4. Government can't change people's beliefs
  5. Government can't control real prices or real wages
  6. Government can't regulate profit without destroying jobs
  7. Government can't fund massive social programs
  8. Government can't increase the real wages of workers
  9. Government can't prevent disasters, control the climate, or change the laws of physics
  10. Government can't equalize incomes or help the poor very much

CANDIDATES LIE, CALL NAMES, AND USE PEJORATIVES AND INNUENDO

The Plurality Voting System makes candidates take votes from other candidates to win. So they do unscrupulous things to get enough votes to win (e.g. lies, slurs, and namecalling). They sound like third-graders yelling at each other on a school playground.

TOO MANY PEOPLE WANT GOVERNMENT TO PAY FOR THEIR LIVING

Too many candidates promise that government will give the people free stuff. Some of the candidates actually believe that they can do it. Many of them falsely believe that government spending can expand the economy. But it doesn't work.

SOME STATES WRONGLY USE WINNER-TAKE-ALL DELEGATE ELECTION

This totally cancels out the votes of many of the people. They do it just to save time at the convention (more votes must be taken if states are not winner-take-all).

EACH STATE HAS ITS OWN PRIMARY RULES

These rules are used to give the party leaders more power. They use these rules to give their favorite candidates an unfair edge.

SOME PARTIES WRONGLY USE SUPERDELEGATES

Superdelegates are used to give the party leaders more power. They use these superdelegates to give their favorite candidates an unfair edge.

SOME STATES LET PARTY LEADERS CHOOSE THE DELEGATES

When the party selects its own delegates, it takes away the power of voting from the people. This gives the party leaders total control over how the state votes in the convention.

EACH PARTY CONVENTION HAS ITS OWN RULES

They use the Plurality Voting System at the convention, which introduces even more errors. Conventions thwart the will of many of the voters by making rules that favor certain candidates.

SLANTED COVERAGE BY THE PRESS UNFAIRLY BIASES ELECTIONS

For freedom of the press to exist, the press must not take sides. But reporters want for themselves some of the impossible promises candidates make. Instead of properly doing their jobs, the reporters are slanting the news to get the promised baubles.

Most reporters want government-funded healthcare because they don't get benefits from their employers. Freelance reporters definitely do not get benefits.

MINOR PARTIES HAVE NO VOTING EQUALITY

The Plurality Voting System ruins the chances of minor parties to win, because the vote-splitting caused by minor parties divides up the vote for the two major parties. A third party usually helps the major party most different from the third party win.

STATES USE STRAIGHT-PARTY VOTING TO PLEASE UNIONS

The Straight Party Voting Function was introduced t the behest of the unions so they could tell illiterate workers, "Just pull the rooster lever."

MOST STATES AWARD ELECTORS USING WINNER-TAKE-ALL RULES

This farce has gone on too long. It is done to reduce the number of votes in the Electoral College, but it also lets the politicians of a state that always votes the same way to guarantee their candidate a certainty of those electoral votes. It is wrongdoing.

RARELY IS THERE A WINNER PEOPLE LIKE

The use of the Plurality Voting System, winner-take-all delegates and electors, straight party voting, and the biased press combined give us a result a majority of the people dislike.



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