[Lnc-business] At-Large Elections

Caryn Ann Harlos caryn.ann.harlos at lp.org
Sun Jul 8 21:20:31 EDT 2018


A formal review of voting procedures would help the Bylaws Committee
greatly in making proposals.

On Sun, Jul 8, 2018 at 6:27 PM, <steven.nekhaila at lp.org> wrote:

> I believe a Partial Block Voting system would be ideal for At-Large
> elections, with 7 open seats, and less than 7 votes per delegate, which
> would allow minority representation to rise with a higher likelihood of
> complete Party representation. That is of course, not up to the LNC, but I
> am hoping 2020 contains a formal review of our voting procedures as well as
> an electronic voting system.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Steven Nekhaila
>
> On 2018-07-07 06:32 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos via Lnc-business wrote:
>
>> Plurality v majority is not for us to decide.
>>    My objections were based on the fact that the delegates were rushed to
>>    believe there were only two options.
>>    There weren’t.
>>    In fact we easily could have done a rising vote to find majorities.
>>    There is nothing that can be done now but I do think we unduly
>>    influenced - innocently and with the best of intent, but still not
>>    appropriate.
>>    On Sat, Jul 7, 2018 at 12:50 PM kenneth.olsen--- via Lnc-business
>>    <[1]lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>>
>>      I agree with Nick on this one.  WHile I still support electronic
>>      voting,
>>      I agree that the At-Large elections should be based on plurality and
>>      not
>>      approval.  It would allow for better overall representation within
>>      the
>>      party.
>>      In Liberty,
>>      K. Brent Olsen, Psy.D.
>>      Alternate, Region 4
>>      559-960-3613
>>      On 2018-07-06 21:42, Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business wrote:
>>      > Dear All,
>>      >
>>      > Pursuant to the delegates suspension of the rules at convention
>>      after
>>      > overturning the ruling of the Chair, the top five vote-getters are
>>      > properly elected to the At-Large seats on the LNC by the delegates
>>      in
>>      > convention.  Objections to the procedure taken by the delegates
>>      are
>>      > out of order, as such objections have to be properly raised during
>>      the
>>      > convention session.
>>      >
>>      > As to the Judicial Committee, I'll defer to Chuck Moulton's
>>      analysis
>>      > and suggest that the LNC pass a motion that acknowledges the top
>>      seven
>>      > vote-getters as the Judicial Committee.
>>      >
>>      > There has been a lot of discussion about convention schedules,
>>      > electronic voting systems, errors in tallying, etc. These
>>      discussions
>>      > miss the point.  Using approval voting for a multi-member election
>>      > that does not allow for winning by plurality is likely the worst
>>      > possible election method to get At-Large members elected.
>>      >
>>      > In the past, we were allowed to vote for as many candidates as
>>      there
>>      > were positions available, and we rarely went to a second ballot.
>>      An
>>      > instant runoff or single transferable system would reallocate
>>      those
>>      > votes for candidates with minimal support.
>>      >
>>      > If the goal of At-Large members is to represent interest groups
>>      within
>>      > the Libertarian Party, we are using the wrong voting system.  If
>>      it is
>>      > merely to determine who is most popular in the party, we are using
>>      the
>>      > correct system, but it will continue to produce results like we've
>>      had
>>      > two conventions in a row based on the nature of the system.
>>      >
>>      > In short, counting ballots faster doesn't matter if we're still
>>      voting
>>      > wrong.
>>      >
>>      > Yours truly,
>>      > Nick
>>
>> References
>>
>>    1. mailto:lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>>
>


-- 
-- 
*In Liberty,*
*Caryn Ann Harlos*
Libertarian Party and Libertarian National Committee Secretary - Caryn.Ann.
Harlos at LP.org <Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org> or Secretary at LP.org.
Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee - LPedia at LP.org

A haiku to the Statement of Principles:
*We defend your rights*
*And oppose the use of force*
*Taxation is theft*
-------------- next part --------------
   A formal review of voting procedures would help the Bylaws Committee
   greatly in making proposals.

   On Sun, Jul 8, 2018 at 6:27 PM, <[1]steven.nekhaila at lp.org> wrote:

     I believe a Partial Block Voting system would be ideal for At-Large
     elections, with 7 open seats, and less than 7 votes per delegate,
     which would allow minority representation to rise with a higher
     likelihood of complete Party representation. That is of course, not
     up to the LNC, but I am hoping 2020 contains a formal review of our
     voting procedures as well as an electronic voting system.
     Sincerely,
     Steven Nekhaila
     On 2018-07-07 06:32 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos via Lnc-business wrote:

     Plurality v majority is not for us to decide.
        My objections were based on the fact that the delegates were
     rushed to
        believe there were only two options.
        There weren’t.
        In fact we easily could have done a rising vote to find
     majorities.
        There is nothing that can be done now but I do think we unduly
        influenced - innocently and with the best of intent, but still
     not
        appropriate.
        On Sat, Jul 7, 2018 at 12:50 PM kenneth.olsen--- via Lnc-business

      <[1][2]lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
        I agree with Nick on this one.  WHile I still support electronic
        voting,
        I agree that the At-Large elections should be based on plurality
   and
        not
        approval.  It would allow for better overall representation within
        the
        party.
        In Liberty,
        K. Brent Olsen, Psy.D.
        Alternate, Region 4
        559-960-3613
        On 2018-07-06 21:42, Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business wrote:
        > Dear All,
        >
        > Pursuant to the delegates suspension of the rules at convention
        after
        > overturning the ruling of the Chair, the top five vote-getters
   are
        > properly elected to the At-Large seats on the LNC by the
   delegates
        in
        > convention.  Objections to the procedure taken by the delegates
        are
        > out of order, as such objections have to be properly raised
   during
        the
        > convention session.
        >
        > As to the Judicial Committee, I'll defer to Chuck Moulton's
        analysis
        > and suggest that the LNC pass a motion that acknowledges the top
        seven
        > vote-getters as the Judicial Committee.
        >
        > There has been a lot of discussion about convention schedules,
        > electronic voting systems, errors in tallying, etc. These
        discussions
        > miss the point.  Using approval voting for a multi-member
   election
        > that does not allow for winning by plurality is likely the worst
        > possible election method to get At-Large members elected.
        >
        > In the past, we were allowed to vote for as many candidates as
        there
        > were positions available, and we rarely went to a second ballot.
        An
        > instant runoff or single transferable system would reallocate
        those
        > votes for candidates with minimal support.
        >
        > If the goal of At-Large members is to represent interest groups
        within
        > the Libertarian Party, we are using the wrong voting system.  If
        it is
        > merely to determine who is most popular in the party, we are
   using
        the
        > correct system, but it will continue to produce results like
   we've
        had
        > two conventions in a row based on the nature of the system.
        >
        > In short, counting ballots faster doesn't matter if we're still
        voting
        > wrong.
        >
        > Yours truly,
        > Nick

     References
        1. mailto:[3]lnc-business at hq.lp.org

   --
   --
   In Liberty,
   Caryn Ann Harlos
   Libertarian Party and Libertarian National Committee Secretary
   - [4]Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org or Secretary at LP.org.
   Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee - LPedia at LP.org
   A haiku to the Statement of Principles:
   We defend your rights
   And oppose the use of force
   Taxation is theft

References

   1. mailto:steven.nekhaila at lp.org
   2. mailto:lnc-business at hq.lp.org
   3. mailto:lnc-business at hq.lp.org
   4. mailto:Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org


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