I can’t point you in a precise direction, but I’ve seen the idea showing up sporadically for more than a decade now. The current voting system is obviously absurd and the root cause of many problems, but the obstacle to change is not a lack of viable alternatives, nor a lack of clever people convinced that at least it’s worth trying. Alternative voting systems have been implemented and work well. For example, in France there was a website (Parlement et Citoyens) that allowed people to vote on individual laws, lay out arguments for and against, propose amendments. The vote of the (internet, French) people was surprisingly nuanced and well-argued. The problem is that this website was not connected to any actual exercise of power. A few members of the parliament showed interest in the site, pretended that they’d try to implement what the users decided, some might even have tried to do it, but in the end it barely made a ripple in the pond.
I assume it is (or will be) the same problem with delegated voting. Of course it’s worth trying, but if it’s not connected to any actual power, people are gonna feel cheated and will deem the idea a failure in the same stroke.
Yeah, I think the idea needs some careful thought to flesh it out a bit more. If voting is not anonymous and scheduled, then it’s too easy for coercion and such to enter the picture.
On the plus side, once you do have something solid enough to test, you can start with local elections. For instance, look at the Center for Election Science and their work on converting local elections to approval voting.
I can’t point you in a precise direction, but I’ve seen the idea showing up sporadically for more than a decade now. The current voting system is obviously absurd and the root cause of many problems, but the obstacle to change is not a lack of viable alternatives, nor a lack of clever people convinced that at least it’s worth trying. Alternative voting systems have been implemented and work well. For example, in France there was a website (Parlement et Citoyens) that allowed people to vote on individual laws, lay out arguments for and against, propose amendments. The vote of the (internet, French) people was surprisingly nuanced and well-argued. The problem is that this website was not connected to any actual exercise of power. A few members of the parliament showed interest in the site, pretended that they’d try to implement what the users decided, some might even have tried to do it, but in the end it barely made a ripple in the pond.
I assume it is (or will be) the same problem with delegated voting. Of course it’s worth trying, but if it’s not connected to any actual power, people are gonna feel cheated and will deem the idea a failure in the same stroke.
Yeah, I think the idea needs some careful thought to flesh it out a bit more. If voting is not anonymous and scheduled, then it’s too easy for coercion and such to enter the picture. On the plus side, once you do have something solid enough to test, you can start with local elections. For instance, look at the Center for Election Science and their work on converting local elections to approval voting.