INDEPENDENT VOTING CAN
DO OTHER VOTING SYSTEMS

THE INDEPENDENT VOTING SYSTEM

The Independent Voting System has the following rules:

• Each ballot position has selectable entries for both YES and NO.
• Each voter casts a vote on every candidate on the ballot, not just the ones they like.
• If a voter makes no selection in a ballot position, or selects both YES and NO, an ABSTAIN vote is recorded.
• ABSTAIN is the default vote if the voter does nothing for that Choice.
• There must be absolutely NO interlocking between one ballot position and another.
• No combination of voting selections is disallowed.
• Since more than one candidate from each party can run, there shall be no straight-party selection.
• The voter is allowed to make exactly the choices he wants.

The Independent Voting System is the only system of taking a vote that has all of the following desirable properties:

• Every voter has exactly the same amount of power, regardless of his preferences.
• Voters are not split by multiple candidates with similar platforms.
• Voters who do not like any of the candidates are not disenfranchised.
• Voters who like more than one candidate are not disenfranchised.
• The system has no bias for or against any candidate.
• The number of candidates running does not matter.
• A candidate cannot affect the outcome of the election by entering or leaving the race, unless he wins the election when in the race.
• Because candidates can't hurt each other by running, no primary election is necessary.
• No runoff election is necessary, unless a tie occurs or no candidate gets a positive score.
• No recounts.
• Negative campaigning will end, because voting against one candidate doesn't automatically vote for another.
• There is no such thing as an overvote or an undervote.
• Voters can always vote their consciences.
• Voters do not have to abandon their favorite candidates to prevent their worst choices from being elected.
• The system can be set to disallow a candidate with more Abstain votes than the sum of Yes and No votes to prevent a surprise win from a minor candidate. This MINOR CANDIDATE FEATURE must be enabled or disabled by legislation.

The Plurality, Instant Runoff, and Approval Voting Systems are subsets of the Independent Voting System.

 - So if you don't like the Independent Voting System, you can use one of these subsets:

Here is how to vote using other voting systems when Independent Voting is used.

1. Plurality Voting System (Vote for only one):

   Vote YES for yes. You can either vote NO or vote ABSTAIN for no.

2. Instant Runoff Voting System (Vote first and second choice):

   Vote YES for first Choice, ABSTAIN for second, and NO for others.

3. Approval Voting System (Vote for all you like):

   Vote YES for yes and ABSTAIN for no.