Sunday, January 29, 2017

Democracy and None of the Above

If a proposed None of the Above were to receive the most votes, then the election would be required to be re-run, with all those who were outpolled no longer eligible.  With that Dissent option, the disenchanted would be more likely to participate, and parties would be more responsive, thereby improving the presumed Democracy. On the other hand, some might object that with the possibility of an inconclusive outcome, scheduling would become unwieldy.  However, that objection confuses an efficiently conducted Democracy with a Democracy corrupted by expediency, a line arguably crossed in the 2000 election.  Anyway, if party machinery wants to not be inconvenienced, it can preempt any re-run by putting up candidates who are responsive to the interests of voters, not candidates to which voters have no choice but to adapt themselves.

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