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Attended college thanks to the generous state support of education in 1960's America. Earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Illinois followed by post doctoral research positions at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Taught for several years at Lehigh University prior to a short stint at Bell Laboratories but followed by a much longer career at NEC punctuated by ten U.S. and international patents in the general area to semiconductor applications. Now living in a comfortable Maine retirement community and focused on the prospect of upgrading democracy by means of an improved voting system.
OpEd News Member for 975 week(s) and 1 day(s)
142 Articles, 30 Quick Links, 1488 Comments, 12 Diaries, 3 Series, 8 Polls
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Sunday, January 19, 2025 SHARE
Striving for Better Voting
While BAV is a great voting system, there are apt to be some who are not convinced. It is hard to know what their objections are, but this article is an attempt to respond to one that seems likely.
It introduces a new voting system, BAV+, not because it will improve elections, but because it might find a wider audience of support.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Striving for Better Voting
While BAV is a great voting system, there are apt to be some who are not convinced. It is hard to know what their objections are, but this article is an attempt to respond to one that seems likely.
It introduces a new voting system, BAV+, not because it will improve elections, but because it might find a wider audience of support.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Friday, January 3, 2025 SHARE
Who Decides?
There is more to conducting a good election than choosing the right voting system. There are security precautions of course, but it is also necessary to keep the number of candidates to some reasonable limit.
This article addresses this issue while comparing approval voting with balanced approval voting.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Who Decides?
There is more to conducting a good election than choosing the right voting system. There are security precautions of course, but it is also necessary to keep the number of candidates to some reasonable limit.
This article addresses this issue while comparing approval voting with balanced approval voting.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Sunday, December 8, 2024 (1 comments) SHARE
What is so Special about Balanced Approval Voting?
This article is intended as a summary of the virtues of BAV. Nearly all of the information here can be found somewhere in one or another earlier article, so what is new is merely how it is organized in one place.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
What is so Special about Balanced Approval Voting?
This article is intended as a summary of the virtues of BAV. Nearly all of the information here can be found somewhere in one or another earlier article, so what is new is merely how it is organized in one place.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Sunday, November 17, 2024 (3 comments) SHARE
Balanced: Plurality or Approval?
This article re-visits a balanced voting system and compares it to BAV. In the process, the roles of being balanced and evaluative are revealed more clearly. The article can also be taken as a review of the most important features of BAV.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Balanced: Plurality or Approval?
This article re-visits a balanced voting system and compares it to BAV. In the process, the roles of being balanced and evaluative are revealed more clearly. The article can also be taken as a review of the most important features of BAV.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Tuesday, October 15, 2024 (12 comments) SHARE
BAV: What Could Go Wrong?
Tie elections are always a possibility and experience supports the belief that they will only very rarely occur. But mostly our experience is with plurality elections.
With some new voting system, that might not continue to be the case. This article suggests how this unlikely problem could be managed sensibly for at least some voting systems, including BAV.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
BAV: What Could Go Wrong?
Tie elections are always a possibility and experience supports the belief that they will only very rarely occur. But mostly our experience is with plurality elections.
With some new voting system, that might not continue to be the case. This article suggests how this unlikely problem could be managed sensibly for at least some voting systems, including BAV.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Tuesday, October 1, 2024 (9 comments) SHARE
Another Ranked-Choice Spoiler (Corrected version)
This article corrects an error in the previous version. It illustrates the spoiler effect occurrence in a ranked-choice election with only three candidates.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views), Ranked Voting (38 Articles, 51211 views)
Another Ranked-Choice Spoiler (Corrected version)
This article corrects an error in the previous version. It illustrates the spoiler effect occurrence in a ranked-choice election with only three candidates.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views), Ranked Voting (38 Articles, 51211 views)
Thursday, September 26, 2024 (3 comments) SHARE
Another Ranked-Choice Spoiler
As the title suggests, this article presents an example election that fails due to the spoiler effect. In this case there are only three candidates.
Another Ranked-Choice Spoiler
As the title suggests, this article presents an example election that fails due to the spoiler effect. In this case there are only three candidates.
Monday, August 19, 2024 (9 comments) SHARE
Handicaps in Score Elections
Score voting systems can be praised for allowing expression of both approval and disapproval regarding each candidate. But few score voting systems provide equal opportunities for these choices; some favor famous candidates and others favor the less famous ones. Some allow different levels of power for opposition than for support. Examples are explored in the article.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Handicaps in Score Elections
Score voting systems can be praised for allowing expression of both approval and disapproval regarding each candidate. But few score voting systems provide equal opportunities for these choices; some favor famous candidates and others favor the less famous ones. Some allow different levels of power for opposition than for support. Examples are explored in the article.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Friday, August 2, 2024 (9 comments) SHARE
Similarities Between Star Voting and Balanced Approval Voting
Star voting has had some popularity in recent years, apparently because of its good performance in some simulations.
Both star voting and BAV are closely related to score voting, but beyond that they have many differences. This article examines those differences and this provides a platform for reviewing the important features of BAV that make it such an attractive voting system.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Similarities Between Star Voting and Balanced Approval Voting
Star voting has had some popularity in recent years, apparently because of its good performance in some simulations.
Both star voting and BAV are closely related to score voting, but beyond that they have many differences. This article examines those differences and this provides a platform for reviewing the important features of BAV that make it such an attractive voting system.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Sunday, June 30, 2024 (8 comments) SHARE
Runoff in a Star Election
This article considers runoff elections in a general way, but particularly focusing on star voting, which is seen to be affected, in an unusual way, by the spoiler effect.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views), Ranked Voting (38 Articles, 51211 views)
Runoff in a Star Election
This article considers runoff elections in a general way, but particularly focusing on star voting, which is seen to be affected, in an unusual way, by the spoiler effect.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views), Ranked Voting (38 Articles, 51211 views)
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 SHARE
Why Have Laws Against Murder?
The article is intended as food for thought.
We explore the possibility that the preamble to our Constitution provides us with good guidance about why some laws should be regarded as illegitimate. Various laws are considered as examples, including dietary laws, murder, theft, fraud and abortion.
Why Have Laws Against Murder?
The article is intended as food for thought.
We explore the possibility that the preamble to our Constitution provides us with good guidance about why some laws should be regarded as illegitimate. Various laws are considered as examples, including dietary laws, murder, theft, fraud and abortion.
Monday, April 1, 2024 (3 comments) SHARE
Should Legislatures Use Balanced Approval Voting? (Hint: They already do)
Earlier articles in this series have focused on general election or sometimes primaries. This one looks at how to apply an improved voting system to improve the legislative process, either in Congress or in a state or local legislature.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Should Legislatures Use Balanced Approval Voting? (Hint: They already do)
Earlier articles in this series have focused on general election or sometimes primaries. This one looks at how to apply an improved voting system to improve the legislative process, either in Congress or in a state or local legislature.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Monday, March 11, 2024 (1 comments) SHARE
Families of Voting Systems
Just because two voting systems use the same ballots does not mean they are the same. How the votes are counted and how the winner is determined are equally important. This article describes such variations of balanced approval voting.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views), Ranked Voting (38 Articles, 51211 views)
Families of Voting Systems
Just because two voting systems use the same ballots does not mean they are the same. How the votes are counted and how the winner is determined are equally important. This article describes such variations of balanced approval voting.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views), Ranked Voting (38 Articles, 51211 views)
Sunday, February 25, 2024 (2 comments) SHARE
Illusions of Ending the Two-Party Duopoly
If ending the two-party duopoly is what we want to accomplish then the options for a new voting system seem quite limited.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views), Ranked Voting (38 Articles, 51211 views)
Illusions of Ending the Two-Party Duopoly
If ending the two-party duopoly is what we want to accomplish then the options for a new voting system seem quite limited.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views), Ranked Voting (38 Articles, 51211 views)
Tuesday, February 6, 2024 (5 comments) SHARE
Can We Reform our Polarized Two-Party Politics?
There are many reasons to favor balanced approval voting, and high on the list is that it would give voters more candidates to choose from. This purpose here is to consolidate the most important advantages of this voting system within a single article.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Can We Reform our Polarized Two-Party Politics?
There are many reasons to favor balanced approval voting, and high on the list is that it would give voters more candidates to choose from. This purpose here is to consolidate the most important advantages of this voting system within a single article.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Wednesday, January 10, 2024 (6 comments) SHARE
Is BAV Compatible with the Electoral College?
The Electoral College now seems an anachronism, but it is enshrined in the Constitution and seems very hard to eliminate. This article suggests a couple of ways to improve matters without resorting to eliminating it.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Is BAV Compatible with the Electoral College?
The Electoral College now seems an anachronism, but it is enshrined in the Constitution and seems very hard to eliminate. This article suggests a couple of ways to improve matters without resorting to eliminating it.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Tuesday, January 2, 2024 SHARE
Top-down Bias in Podcasting
Technological changes can cause cultural problems that require us to adapt. It may be impossible to return to what worked in the past and so new solutions may be needed.
Polarization and the consequent limitations on civil discussions may in part be a consequence of social media. It seems impossible for us to eliminate social media but here we suggest another way to bring back civil discussions of important issues.
Top-down Bias in Podcasting
Technological changes can cause cultural problems that require us to adapt. It may be impossible to return to what worked in the past and so new solutions may be needed.
Polarization and the consequent limitations on civil discussions may in part be a consequence of social media. It seems impossible for us to eliminate social media but here we suggest another way to bring back civil discussions of important issues.
Thursday, December 28, 2023 (3 comments) SHARE
Bottom-up Electoral Reform
This article is really a plea for help with spreading the word about BAV. There are a few people who support this method of voting but that number is now quite small compared to the number who are completely unaware of it.
So long as that is true, it will not even be a candidate for adoption. Changing that will not be easy, but the article proposes a strategy.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Bottom-up Electoral Reform
This article is really a plea for help with spreading the word about BAV. There are a few people who support this method of voting but that number is now quite small compared to the number who are completely unaware of it.
So long as that is true, it will not even be a candidate for adoption. Changing that will not be easy, but the article proposes a strategy.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Friday, December 15, 2023 (2 comments) SHARE
Less Democracy Should Not Be an Option
A podcast discusses the wisdom of returning to smoke-filled rooms (well, maybe no cigars) to decide on nominations for our leaders. Here we argue that there are better alternatives.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Less Democracy Should Not Be an Option
A podcast discusses the wisdom of returning to smoke-filled rooms (well, maybe no cigars) to decide on nominations for our leaders. Here we argue that there are better alternatives.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views)
Thursday, November 30, 2023 (21 comments) SHARE
Do IRV Voters Just Need Training?
Revised to fix tables: A second example is presented of an IRV election being subjected to the spoiler effect. This second example does not depend on the odd handling of abstentions in IRV elections.
Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views), Ranked Voting (38 Articles, 51211 views)
Do IRV Voters Just Need Training?
Revised to fix tables: A second example is presented of an IRV election being subjected to the spoiler effect. This second example does not depend on the odd handling of abstentions in IRV elections.Series: Balanced Voting (107 Articles, 143828 views), Ranked Voting (38 Articles, 51211 views)
