IN FAVOR by Allison K.
I’m writing to encourage all of you to vote in favor of adopting the rules package for the convention elections.
Overall, the proposed rules package does not diverge greatly from our normal election rules. Where it does differ, for the most part the merits of changes are clear. For instance, requiring resolutions be submitted in writing in advance will help streamline the process and allow more opportunity for review and prioritization. The changes to the rules around electioneering provide clarity and keep our elections fair.
There has been some opposition to the adoption of Approval Voting though that I wanted to address. Single Transferable Vote and Cumulative voting have both been proposed as alternatives. The main argument in favor of these is that they foster diverse viewpoints, in the sense that in both cases minority factions can concentrate their votes on one candidate and defeat a majority.
While these voting methods do prioritize diversity of opinion where two groups want to contradict one another, this is not the only kind of diversity of opinion, and it is not the kind of diversity of opinion that allows us to flourish and build strong consensus for our our candidates.
These methods discourage those voting from voting for their authentic preferences in favor of voting strategically, meaning preferences where diverse voters overlap may lose in favor of shared opposition.
Additionally, approval voting is straightforward and simple, not just for the lack of a need for strategic voting, but also because the ballot will be straightforward and the method to calculate is easy to understand, and in the case of convention won’t require individually ranking 38 people.
I hope you’ll join me in voting yes for this rules package so we can improve our election and resolution procedures.`