Political Polarization
One day in late 2016 I sat in my parked car, listening to the news. We were quickly approaching election day, where the two least popular candidates in US history were competing for the top office in the land. Like so many others, I was dismayed and frustrated that candidates with broader appeal had been sidelined, ensuring that any outcome would leave half the country feeling like the devil incarnate had been elected president.
It's no secret that politics in the US have become increasingly partisan and divided. More and more, politicians who cater to either extreme of the political spectrum are winning primaries, and being pitted against their counterparts from the other extreme, leaving moderate voters feeling like they are choosing between the "lesser of two evils."
That day in my car, I envisioned a system that would prevent severely unpopular candidates from rising to the top, making way for candidates who are at least tolerable to voters across the political spectrum.
A Solution
Preface
A note before I get into the solution I created: it’s been a decade since I dreamed this idea up. After thinking through the mechanics to create as elegant a solution as I could, I still ended up shelving this idea, primarily because there were already movements afoot that had momentum - mot notably ranked-choice voting. While I believed my solution held some advantages over these, I did not want to pull focus from these movements, which had many smart and passionate people working to move them forward. RCV is a “good enough” solution that would vastly improve our election outcomes, so I decided to leave well enough alone.
Now, a decade later, many defenders of the status-quo are feeling threatened by ranked-choice voting, even going so far as to pass laws banning such voting systems in some places. I am still hesitant to divide the focus of groups who are working to make our election systems better, but I have decided to put my ideas into the public realm in case they offer an opportunity to sidestep these bans, which seem to focus fairly specifically on the mechanics of RCV.
Net Positive Voting is an ally to ranked-choice voting - different mechanics to accomplish the same goals. I offer it up only incase it can gain traction where RCV has hit roadblocks.
Net Positive Voting
Words with some bold words mixed in.
We all know that words are words.
What would the world be like if words?
NPV vs RCV
Words: Descriptive words
Bullet list of words
And more words
Finally, more words
That’s All For Now
I haven’t quite finished this project description yet, but I love talking about the things I’ve done, so if you are curious please ask!