Subject: Re: [EL] a "thumping" in the U.K. AV referendum
From: "Gaddie, Ronald K." <rkgaddie@ou.edu>
Date: 5/6/2011, 3:41 PM
To: "jon.roland@constitution.org" <jon.roland@constitution.org>, "election-law@mailman.lls.edu" <election-law@mailman.lls.edu>

There is another theory: An electorate intelligent enough to understand and use AV is also an electorate intelligent enough to reject AV.  I say this as a fan of AV.

Ronald Keith Gaddie
Professor of Political Science
Editor, Social Science Quarterly
The University of Oklahoma
455 West Lindsey Street, Room 222
Norman, OK  73019-2001
Phone 405-325-4989
Fax 405-325-0718
E-mail: rkgaddie@ou.edu
http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/G/Ronald.K.Gaddie-1
http://socialsciencequarterly.org
From: election-law-bounces@mailman.lls.edu [election-law-bounces@mailman.lls.edu] on behalf of Jon Roland [jon.roland@constitution.org]
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2011 4:30 PM
To: election-law@mailman.lls.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] a "thumping" in the U.K. AV referendum

My comment posted at the site:

Somehow I doubt the voters really understood the concept of approval voting, or else foresaw that the LDs could win if they were the second choice of enough voters, which is true.

From my standpoint in the US what it appears the UK really needs is a written constitution, instead of a House of Commons that functions as an ongoing constitutional convention, about which it has been said,

No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while Parliament is in session.

For more on voting theory see http://constitution.org/voting/voting.htm and in particular the article on Proxy Voting, which I recommend to Britons.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/may/06/av-over-yes-campaign-routed


-- Jon

----------------------------------------------------------
Constitution Society               http://constitution.org
2900 W Anderson Ln C-200-322           twitter.com/lex_rex
Austin, TX 78757 512/299-5001  jon.roland@constitution.org
----------------------------------------------------------