Post #295,015
10/23/07 10:23:22 PM
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Even better solution.
Lose the electoral college. Simple popular vote of the president would be much more straightforward. Use an Instant Runoff and one candidate per party and you could have a very simple ballot paper and probably know the result before midnight.
But nooooo --- that'd be 'too efficient' :-p
Wade.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
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Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
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-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. | · my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] · |
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Post #295,017
10/23/07 11:09:06 PM
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concur...
/me chuckles
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Post #295,029
10/24/07 10:02:41 AM
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no way, the electoral college can save the country
from a deaconian majority, it is the one check and balance I am very fond of. Now direct election of the electors would be a good idea.
thanx,
bill
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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Post #295,064
10/24/07 6:02:06 PM
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Error...
>[...] and you could have a very simple ballot paper and [...] Uhhh...you are from out-of-town, aren't you. Haven't you heard that paper ballots have been all but outlawed? You see, my poor, benighted foreign friend, if you have actual tactile, paper ballots, there would be this awful thing called an "audit trail", and that would all but thwart attempts by Diebold et al to insure the outcome of all our elections are won by the highest bidder. Please try and keep up... jb4
"It's hard for me, you know, living in this beautiful White House, to give you a firsthand assessment."
— George W. Bush, when asked if he believed Iraq was in a state of civil war (Newsweek, 26 Feb 07)
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Post #295,068
10/24/07 6:10:16 PM
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*chuckle*
Smile,
Amy
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Post #295,088
10/24/07 10:54:42 PM
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That was deliberate. :-)
As I'm sure you're aware, I'm a fan of pencil-and-paper ballots. And the likes of Diebold Election Machines* are rightly scared of them, if they are in the habit of throwing elections. For exactly the reasons you cite.
Wade.
* as distinct from Diebold ATMs who doesn't like their smaller cousin because he has this ba-a-ad reputation, see.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
| |
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
|
-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. | · my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] · |
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Post #295,212
10/27/07 1:54:05 PM
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And you're still only HALF-radical: What is this "pencil"...
...of which you speak?
In Sweden, we use pre-printed ballots; the way you indicate your preference is by picking the one with your party's list of candidates printed on it. The parties pick up the printing cost.
OK, you could always strike out any particular candidate's name, if you didn't like sh/he/it, or write your own preferred list on a blank paper with just the party's name on it (or a totally blank one, if your party didn't have any pre-printed ones at all), but that is kind of the exception or special case: For voting a straight party ticket, no writing implement whatsoever is needed.
(And I think, though I'm not sure at all, that in case you do use one, it's supposed to be a pen, not a pencil.)
[link|mailto:MyUserId@MyISP.CountryCode|Christian R. Conrad]
(I live in Finland, and my e-mail in-box is at the Saunalahti company.)
Ah, the Germans: Masters of Convoluted Simplification. — [link|http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=1603|Jehovah]
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Post #295,245
10/28/07 8:31:43 AM
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Pencils are by the AEC in Au.
Ballots, too. Put a "1" in the box of the desired candiate. Number from "2" onwards if you like. Instant Run-Off. Vast majority of people figure it out. I counted at a booth once. Every ballot sheet must be also accounted for, used or not.
I don't know why pencils, not pens, but that's what the Australian Electoral Commission provides. Maybe they're cheaper than pens.
Wade.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
| |
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
|
-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. | · my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] · |
|
Post #295,257
10/28/07 1:29:55 PM
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Ah, Simplicity
Do not bag any further on this pup. He knows whereof he speaks. Unlike our corrupted voting system, they still have that glimmer of virtue: innocence. Allow him and his countrymen to enjoy it while it lasts. You never know when the Diebold Disease will spread.
Smile,
Amy
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Post #295,345
10/30/07 6:35:27 AM
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Diebold will have it tough.
It has been asked many times through the years why we persist with such low-tech system. But there are several reasons it hasn't happened. First is that we have a federal commission that runs the elections in a way that doesn't happen in the US. The AEC is highly wary of such technology because it a) costs and b) has a very hard time beating the speed and reliability of our system: most electorates know their result the evening of the election. And there's another reason: compulsory voting means election campaigns spend a lot less money per capita than in the US. That makes it harder for voting machine companies to get in.
That said, there are electronic voting trials happening in this election; but they're intended for those who would have trouble with pencil-and-paper. The AEC has run trials before of voting machines and has been unimpressed.
Oh yes: [link|http://www.aec.gov.au/FAQs/Voting_Australia.htm#Why do they supply pencils in polling booths and not pens? Doesn't using pencils allow votes to be tampered with|Why do they supply pencils in polling booths and not pens? Doesn't using pencils allow votes to be tampered with].
Okay, I'll shut up, now. :-)
Wade.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
| |
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
|
-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. | · my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] · |
|
