I wish this post would have more gone into the issues of what you are voting for, and how the appropriateness of the voting system depends on that. Counting the votes is not an end in itself, but a reflection of actual decisions to be made, often including further votes.
For example a British MP does not have authority in his own right; he only exercises power through his vote in Parliament. Few would argue that choosing ones own MP is an end in itself; the important thing is that the voter should be able to influence the decisions of the government as a whole. Indeed, it seems quite wrong to suggest, in the context of Parliamentary elections, that a “fair” voting system is the one that minimises tactical voting, as that will merely mean that the “tactical voting” will go on in Parliament itself, in terms of building coalitions of parties rather than coalitions of voters.
Electoral design needs to be looked at in terms of the whole system, not merely candidate selection.
I wish this post would have more gone into the issues of what you are voting for, and how the appropriateness of the voting system depends on that. Counting the votes is not an end in itself, but a reflection of actual decisions to be made, often including further votes.
For example a British MP does not have authority in his own right; he only exercises power through his vote in Parliament. Few would argue that choosing ones own MP is an end in itself; the important thing is that the voter should be able to influence the decisions of the government as a whole. Indeed, it seems quite wrong to suggest, in the context of Parliamentary elections, that a “fair” voting system is the one that minimises tactical voting, as that will merely mean that the “tactical voting” will go on in Parliament itself, in terms of building coalitions of parties rather than coalitions of voters.
Electoral design needs to be looked at in terms of the whole system, not merely candidate selection.