Hot or Not?

A few posts ago, I'd commented on how our voting system was inherently flawed and dangerously predisposed towards electing leaders without a broad base of acceptance (witness Erap on one hand, GMA on the other). I'd also started to delve into the various alternative voting systems that sought to eliminate, or at least minimize, the current system's disadvantages. I had intended to write comparisons of one-man-one-vote plurality voting, runoffs, instant-runoffs, approval voting, and my own pet theory, net-approval voting. However, work and my inherent laziness got the better of me, and I never got beyond run-offs.

Fortunately, voting systems are also a perennial topic in the states, and whenever their elections draw near, the theorists come out of the woodwork. This article on Salon touches on most of what I had originally planned to write, with the added mention of range voting. This particular system, in the off chance you were wondering, has already proved its worth in the real world, as demonstrated quite enjoyably by this website.

I, for one, would welcome the day we can upmod or downmod candidates as if they were entries in Reddit.