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"Both parties are the same!"
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2023
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Could they?
AFAIK, most details of elections are set by the states, right? I think at the federal level, it might require an amendment to require that states use ranked choice, STAR. 3-2-1 or whatever.
They’re one of the two 800lb gorillas in the room, you think they can’t move public opinion or make policy? Yes the states run their own elections parallel to the feds, but that just means they pass 51ish laws instead of 1.
If you told the American electorate, who is chronically pissed off with the Congress and vacillating on the President, that under STV they could pick their actual favorite AND a safe/tactical vote? I think even Republicans would take that with both hands.
A perennial gripe of rural America is that state and/or federal government don’t prioritize them, the urban vote gets preference. Minorities, gun owners, migrants, small business, etc all can spin the same story with different players. Why wouldn’t they want to pick someone closer to their values or needs than a candidate who appeals to a different voter bloc instead?
The president can move public opinion, sure.
The federal government doesn't run any elections.
States run their own elections for federal offices. The only election run by the federal government is when the electoral college meets to elect a president, and that's usually just a formality.
The president can endorse a system and can probably tie federal funding to implementing it, but AFAIK can't force states to use it.
And I think you underestimate the amount that politics in the US is knee-jerk "we have to take the other side of this issue". There's a lot of everyday Republicans who oppose STV due to assorted FUD from right wing media.
As an aside, STV doesn't let you do that. STV satisfies later-no-harm so it has to fail favorite betrayal. In other words, it guarantees that picking a second tactical vote can't harm your actual favorite, not that voting for your actual favorite is safe.
How? Look at the recent Alaskan special election for the House. If the final round were Begich vs Palin or Begich vs Peltola, Begich would win. However, Begich was eliminated first, so the final round was Palin vs Peltola, and Peltola won.
Palin voters would have been better off voting for Begich; voting for Palin first wasn't safe. Actually, they could have elected Begich if the exact right number of Palin voters stayed home (STV doesn't guarantee voting can't hurt you), or even voting Peltola (STV has odd corner cases where you can defeat someone by voting for them)