"rw" wrote in message
m...

That's exactly what I'm proposing would be a fair outcome w.r.t. our
archaic and divisive and undemocratic electoral system. Do I think it
will happen, at least in my lifetime? No way. I'm afraid we're stuck
with it, until the revolution. That doesn't mean the present system
doesn't suck.

Well the present system may suck, but a pure majority system is likely to be
just as divisive. I live in a state with an extremely strong rural/urban
divide. 3 to 8 metropolitan counties can, and often do, dictate the fate of
all 36 counties. We have a ballot iniative system that allows state laws and
even state constitutional amendments to be enacted directly by a majority of
the electorate, without going through the legislature or approval of the
Governor. In the past few years I have seen several measures enacted which
had little or no impact on the voters in the metropolitan areas where they
carried (sometimes by not extremely heavy margins in those areas) - "
Sounds like a good measure and doesn't affect me." - but which had heavy
negative impacts on the voters in the sparcely populated rural areas which
voted strongly against them.

So, as bad as curbs on the will of majority may be, I am not entirely
comfortable in doing away with them.


--
Bob Weinberger
La, Grande, OR

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