Professor J. David Gillespie has this op-ed in The State, daily newspaper for Columbia, South Carolina. The op-ed notes how few legislative races have both a Republican and a Democrat on the general election ballot, and points out that minor parties perform a useful service for voters by giving them more choices.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
How many profs are brain dead ignorant about – guess what –
P.R. [around since the 1840s – 1840s] and nonpartisan App.V.
NOOOOOO safe seats for the robot party hacks.
Not brain dead, Dem Rep. I agree with you about PR and First Past the Post, and have written a lot about Duverger’s Law. Now you tell me how we get from here to there. You want a level playing field. So do I. But I will take a leveler playing field unless you can tell me how to level it entirely, because I have always thought that if you can’t run but you can walk you ought to walk, not sit on your tail.
David: You can’t get anything through Dem Rep’s head except re-runs about Proportional Representation, and all the other stuff he constantly rants about.
But you are right, we first have to get to 1st base and that is ballot position – preferably by paying filing fees – just like the Dems & Reps do.
As I’ve pointed out before on this website, I don’t think the people would ever fully understand Instant Run-off and the other things that would make voting easier and cheaper, but we have too many uninformed voters who only know how to get to their polling station and voting Democrat or Republican.
I remember when teaching, politics would come up in class, and I’d remark, “I’m not a Democrat or a Republican.” The students would give me that “deer stare in the headlight look” and finally I would explain I am an Independent. Still, some of them didn’t quite understand what it meant to be a Independent. And I doubt today, they still don’t.
Great to be back in contact with you, Alabama Independent. Thanks for your good comment. I think the biggest impediment on the South Carolina ballot is that you can vote the straight ticket with one mark or flip of a lever. It is a “dumb” procedure, and it dumbs down so many voters.
1. A CORRECT lawsuit regarding the Republican Form of Government clause in Art. IV, Sec. IV-
Sorry – NO monarchy/oligarchy regimes allowed in the USA.
ALL gerrymander regimes —
!/2 or less votes x 1/2 gerrymander areas = 1/4 or less control = ALL OLIGARCHY regimes.
2. How many MORONS on this list have NEVER read the 1787-1788 Federalist written by Madison, Hamilton and Jay ???
— THE chief propaganda work to get the 1787 Const ratified in NY State in 1788 especially.
Reproduced in all sorts of newspapers from MA to GA.
3. 18 of the 50 Statess have voter petitions for State Const Amdts.
Too many flippant juvenile know-it-all (i.e. know NOTHING) folks on this list or what ???
P.R. for math MORONS —
Party Members = Total Members X Party Votes / Total Votes.
High tech algebra math — from about the 4th grade.
Way too difficult for the SCOTUS math HACKS to understand ???
— due to all sorts of MORON lawyers and much worse super-MORON amicus profs with their JUNK briefs ??? Duh.
Result — the current monarchy/oligarchy gerrymander ROT in the USA and ALL 50 State regimes
— esp. the high percentage of seats that are D or R (esp. with NO opposition in general elections).