Election Methods: Review of
Alternatives and Oregon
Proposals
League of Women Voters® of Oregon
Education Fund September 2008
Election Systems’
Criteria
Factors to consider:
• Ensure majority rule http://www.freakingnews.com/Mob-Pics-13155.asp
• Encourage minority representation
• Encourage fair gender representation
• Produce fair and accurate
representation of diverse political
views in legislatures.
Election Systems’
Criteria
• Increase voter participation
• Encourage geographic representation
• Encourage “sincere” voting as
opposed to “strategic voting”
• Maximize opportunities for effective
votes and reduce the spoiler effect
Election Systems’
Criteria
• Provide a reasonable
range of voter choice
• Prevent fraud and political
manipulation
• Encourage competitive
election
• Be easy to use and
administer
Nonpartisan Versus Partisan
Elections
Nonpartisan
PRO?
CON?
Oregon Considerations
Single Seat Methods
Unranked methods Ranked methods
Majority Borda
Plurality Approval Methods
Condorcet
Range
Open/Top Instant
Two Runoff
Voting
Unranked Election Methods
Plurality: Approval Voting:
Candidates for the State Senate
Vote for one
Voters can vote for
Ellery Queen more than one
(Democrat) candidate and
Agatha Christie
(Republican)
whoever gets the
Rex Stout most votes wins.
(nonaffiliated)
Ruth Rendell
(Libertarian)
Write-In
Unranked Election Methods
• Range Voting
Bad Poor Fair Good Great
Ruth Rendell 1 2 3 4 5
Rex Stout 1 2 3 4 5
Sue Grafton 1 2 3 4 5
John Grisham 1 2 3 4 5
Ranked Methods
Voters rank
candidates
• Rankings are
converted to
points-Borda
• Preferential
paired
candidates -
Condorcet
http://www.therussianshop.com/russhop/matryoshkas/political.htm
Primaries
• Closed Primaries
• Open Primaries
• Blanket Primary
• Oregon’s Measure 65 in the 2008
General Election
Primaries
• Closed Primaries:
- voter registration includes party
declaration
- only major party registrants can vote
that party’s nomination to general
election
Primaries
• Open Primaries:
- typically no party declaration when
registering to vote
- voter chooses party in which to vote
for nomination to the general election
- no crossover voting allowed
Primaries
• Blanket Primary:
- all voters receive the same ballot
- still selecting major party nominees to
general election
- crossover voting is allowed
- has been found unconstitutional
Primaries
• Oregon’s Measure 65:
- partisan primaries no longer used to
elect major party nominees to general
election
- all voters receive the same ballot
- all candidates including minor parties
and NAVs appear on primary ballot
- only top two go on to general election
Instant Runoff Voting
• Do not use X marks. Candidates for State Senate.
•Mark your choices with
NUMBERS only. Ellery Queen (Democrat)
Agatha Christie (Republican)
• Put the figure 1 opposite your Rex Stout (Independent)
first choice, the figure 2
opposite your second choice, Ruth Rendell (Libertarian)
the figure 3 opposite your third Write-In
choice, and so on. You may
To Vote for a Write-In Candidate:
make as many choices as you
next to the name you have
please.
written in, put a number that
represents your choice for
•Do not put the same figure that candidate
opposite more than one name.
Transfer Process in IRV
Candidates First Second Count Third Count
and parties Count
Original Transfer New Transfer New
first of Totals of Totals
choice Rendell’s Stouts
votes votes Votes
E.Queen (D) 43,000 +0 43,000 +5,000 48,000
A.Christie (R) 42,000 +6000 48,000 +4,000 52,000
R. Stout (I) 8,000 +1000 9,000 -- --
R.Rendell (L) 7,000 -- -- -- --
Winning candidate – Christie
Fusion Voting
__ John Grisham – Democrat
__ Stephen King – Republican
__ Anne Rice – Socialist
__ Sue Grafton – Libertarian
__ John Grisham – Green Party
Multiple Seat Election Methods
Multiple Seat
Methods
STV or
Cumulative Voting
Choice Voting
Election Administration
Considerations
• Software upgrades
• Voter education
• Ballot design
• Longer ballots
• Vote-by-mail system
National Popular Vote
• Concerns about the Electoral
College
• Interstate Compact