The people have spoken - Letters - Letter to the Editor

Science News, Jan 11, 2003

All the alternative voting systems in "Election Selection" (SN: 11/2/02, p. 280) have a common devil, complexity. How can anyone but a self-indulgent intellectual suggest that the answer to our problems is to further complicate a system that is already stressing the abilities of the full complement of voters? Please leave Instant Runoff and Borda counts where they belong--in dusty intellectual journals and as fascinating conversation at campus mixers. I'd suggest that it is both cheaper and wiser to encourage people who want to make obtuse political statements to "grow up" and make the compromises necessary to see that their ultimate preferences are reflected rather than frustrated by their actions. In short, take a little responsibility.

V. KURT BELLMAN, DIRECTOR OF ELECTIONS, COUNTY OF BERKS, PA.

Our plurality voting has one overwhelming advantage: It is simple enough that the majority of people can understand it. As is often said, our system was "designed by geniuses to be run by idiots"

JERRY MALONE, PUEBLO, COLO.

Voter-behavior and candidate-nomination strategies would be radically different under various systems of vote counting. Therefore, we can never know who would have won the 2000 election under a superior system because we can never know how voters would have voted in a different context. We can't even know who would have been on the ballot. Good voting systems should elicit good candidates and then reward honest voting. Voters should be motivated to vote for their true favorites rather than feeling pressured by a bad voting system into voting for the lesser of two evils.

JEFF FISHER, VANCOUVER, WASH.

I vote that the purpose of elections is for each person to move government toward his goals, not to elect Tweedledum instead of Tweedledee. Your article misses this point entirely. Rather than "spoil" the election, third parties force the two main parties (in U.S. politics) to pay some attention to the people rather than just each other, lest they lose too many votes to the third party closest to their ideology.

BOB TOXEN, DULUTH, GA.