Doug makes a good point.
Certainly when the choice voting (aka 'single transferable vote') form of proportional voting was used in cities, you would see vibrant new organizations using it -- places like New York City in city council elections in 1930s and 1940s and in Cincinnati city council elections from 1925 to 1955 (the latter is particularly fascinating for how African Americans made very effective use of the system -- way back in 1927, when less than 10% of the city, running a black candidate and urging black voters to withhold second preferences as a means to pressure one of the two major slates to nominate a black candidate, which one party did in the next election, who then won.... and then, two decades later, the other major slate decided to compete hard for the black vote and ultimately brought it over to its side).
Cumulative voting certainly promoted new political organization in Illinois when used to elects its state house of representatives -- particularly in fights for the "second seat" in a district where one party was likely to win two, and the primary (where cumulative voting was also used) was key for determining what kind of candidate would win it.
Even in winner-take-all races using instant runoff voting (aka "ranked choice voting", "preferential voting", "alternative vote"), you can important adjustments being made in how candidates run. There's a good article out on the Associated Press wire right now about the San Francisco mayoral race, building on experience from recent Bay area elections showing that earning second and third choice rankings takes more than high-price television ads -- see what some of the consultants have to say about IRV-RCV:
- Rob Richie
On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 11:28 AM, Doug Hess
<douglasrhess@gmail.com> wrote:
As far at this problem goes: "There was no particular effort to
mobilize racial minorities or no racial minority ran -- speaking to
the value of having the kind of organization that Jerome Gray and the
Alabama Democratic Conference provided in Alabama and the most
important value of the voter education effort in Port Chester"
Is there evidence that alternative election systems promote new
organization? I.e., many changes in the "rules of the game" require
time before various interests adjust themselves or organize to take
advantage of new opportunities (or loopholes to exploit).
Doug Hess
--
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