How to break up the two party system?

[hollodero]

(10-28-2016, 12:03 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: This is where the ranked voting can come into play. Obviously, were this to become law, there would have to be a method written into it. So, say that 10% is required to take the seat. Once a candidate reaches 10%, those remaining voters that have chosen that candidate could have their votes shifted to their second choice, and so on.

Giving second choices in the voting booth, that sounds complicated.
You might not like that one, but what if you indeed vote for a party on state level.
You vote say Sanders Party (SP), and if the SP gets 10%, the top candidate on SP's "state list" is elected directly (at 20% the top two and so on). Remaining votes go in the national SP pool - the "national list" (with Bernie on top).
You might even give voters the option to temper with the "state list" and additionally let them vote for a certain SP Candidate - but in any case the vote counts for the SP, i.e. for the candidate's party (unless it's for an "independent" local candidate, of course, who also get their fair chance).
Now what you think about that.


(As for the rest, certainly interesting, I just have nothing clever to add at this point.)

[Belsnickel]

(10-28-2016, 12:32 PM)hollodero Wrote: Giving second choices in the voting booth, that sounds complicated.
You might not like that one, but what if you indeed vote for a party on state level.
You vote say Sanders Party (SP), and if the SP gets 10%, the top candidate on SP's "state list" is elected directly (at 20% the top two and so on). Remaining votes go in the national SP pool - the "national list" (with Bernie on top).
You might even give voters the option to temper with the "state list" and additionally let them vote for a certain SP Candidate - but in any case the vote counts for the SP, i.e. for the candidate's party (unless it's for an "independent" local candidate, of course, who also get their fair chance).
Now what you think about that.


(As for the rest, certainly interesting, I just have nothing clever to add at this point.)

I like the idea of the party vote. The issue is what I laid out in my post, that our parties are not substantial enough for this.