Bostonist: Vote!

Josh

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 21:11:22 -0500

OK, I get it. The reason your vote is "more influential" when you vote for just one candidate is just because you hurt all other candidates by not giving any votes to them, right? When I read about it in the paper, I got the impression that it was actually, proportionally more influential. Thanks for clearing this up.

Ron Newman

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 17:15:22 -0500

Neither is true. If you vote for one candidate, she gets one vote, and nobody else gets any votes. If you vote for four candidates, each one gets a vote. In no case does any candidate receive fractional votes or multiple votes from you.

Josh

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 13:57:02 -0500

Wait - are you saying that if you vote for one candidate, the candidate gets one vote, but if you bullet vote for four candidates, each candidate gets one vote? I thought it was that if you voted for one candidate, s/he got one vote, and if you voted for four, each got 1/4 of a vote (that way, your vote is more influential when you vote for only one, as Steve says, above). Whether we say that every voter has four votes or that ever voter has one vote which can be divided into fractions is just semantic, because the effect on the outcome is the same, no?

Ron Newman

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 13:36:35 -0500

that's not correct. If you vote for only one candidate, that candidate gets only one vote. Not four.

Josh

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 16:09:29 -0500

True. I misstated the system somewhat, although the effect is the same: If you vote for only one candidate (and leave the other three spaces blank), that candidate gets four times as many votes counted toward her as she would if you had voted for her and three others. So maybe a better way to put it is that you have one vote, but you can divide it among up to four candidates. I guess it's also true that if you fill in only three spaces, each candidate gets one-and-one-third votes. Right?

Steve Garfield

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 16:01:23 -0500

Ahh.. no. You can only vote for one candidate once. You can not vote multiple times for one candidate. Bullet voting, but voting for one candidate, and leaving the other THREE VOTE BLANK, gives more influence to your single vote fot your chosen candidate.

Josh

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 12:31:06 -0500

Right you are, Ron. I have made the necessary correction. (I let my Somerville-centrism get the better of me.) Thanks.

Ron Newman

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 12:07:22 -0500

The special State Senate election today is not just for Somerville, but also for Medford, Winchester, and a little bit of Woburn.