the idea of voting about voting confuses me

For the first time, I feel sorry for Florida.

And by the way preference voting requires no math. Arithmetic only, and simple arithmetic at that. It just has to do it lots of times.

It just has to do it lots of times.

Aha! See! Not simple anymore.

And FTR I'm getting Borda dis.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

First thing that's justified the thread title in ages.

But if we decide to reduce everything to binary choices, and then vote on things that require mutliple options, then we still have to do multiple balloting - another form of doing arithmetic multiple times. The Australian system is simpler than multiple ballots for the same number of choices.

how do we decide on minimum turnout size, or minimu yes vote size (as Maya suggested) without preference balloting?

You can do that with runoffs.

Or, if someone proposes a simple binary option, Simple Maj/Two-thirds deathmatch, and nobody objects, we can just make that choice and be done with it.

You know, I had foolishly thought that this voting idea was going to make things less complex.

Ah, but making things more bureaucratic NEVER simplifies anything.

I miss my old benevolent dictatorship.

You can do that with runoffs

But John H. The Austrialian system is runoffs, simply done all at once and counted in a fairer manner.

The Condercet system is also run-off, done all at once, and counted in a fairer manner than the Borda system.

Again, suppose we decide on a minimum turnout, what is called a quorum on the ballot? How is a run-off simpler than an Australian ballot?

Ah, but making things more bureaucratic NEVER simplifies anything.

Word.

Overcomplicated policy wonking gives me shivers of "dear lord, what can of worms have we opened here?"