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Geographic Open List/Delegated (GOLD) voting: Difference between revisions
Geographic Open List/Delegated (GOLD) voting (view source)
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#* See above for the transfer methods a voter can choose.
# If there are still seats to fill, repeat from step 3.
== Proportional or semiproportional? ==
GOLD voting is proportional in a two-party context. If there are more than two parties, though, it is only semiproportional; smaller parties without a clear regional character may get less than their proportional share. But if that happens, their votes will not be ignored; they will have a say on which of the larger parties gets more seats, and even on which candidates from that allied larger party win. Thus, a smaller party will be able to promote their issues by favoring those candidates who prioritize those issues.
Note that other proportional voting methods sometimes are used with extra rules designed to stop smaller parties from winning seats. For instance, in the German mixed-member "proportional" method, a party that gets less than 5% or 2 direct seats does not get a proportional allotment of seats. Thus, technically speaking, even the German system is really only semiproportional, not truly proportional.
== Advantages ==
The advantages of this method are as follows. First, the advantages common to all proportional representation methods:
* Equality: partisan gerrymandering is impossible, and each party gets its fair share of seats.
* Representation: Almost all voters are truly represented; even if you are a minority in your district, your vote helps elect a candidate of a party you sympathize with, and you have a representative from that party whose job is to listen to you.
This method also keeps all the strong points of the current voting system. (The current system is horrible in general, but it still has its strong points.)
* Simplicity: you just choose one candidate, and the ballot is short.
* Accountability: voters, not parties, choose who is elected.
* Unity: discourages splinter parties, because candidates without a strong local base of support are eliminated up-front.
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