• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
  • WORLD DEMOCRACY
  • POLITICAL ART
  • more
    • election technology
    • money politics
    • political dissidents
    • THIRD PARTY
      • third party central
      • green party
      • justice party
      • libertarian party
    • voting methods
  • DC INFO
    • author central
    • about
    • advertise with DC
    • contact
    • privacy policy

Democracy Chronicles

Common Sense for Uniting America

by Ted Getschman - November 28, 2021

FacebookTweetLinkedInPin

Common Sense for Uniting America

Min voting divides us.  Max voting unites us.

We are now and always have been politically divided as families, communities, and as a nation: Only about 1 in 5 Trump and Biden supporters say they share the same core American values and goals (Pew Research 8 Oct 2020). People avoid romantic relationships with those who voted for the other party’s presidential candidate (Pew Research 4 Mar 2020). My wife and her brother no longer speak to each other due to political differences. My mom believes our liberal U.S. government is killing off our elderly and babies to manage our population. The U.S. had a civil war that killed 500,000 Americans with muskets and swords, and we don’t use muskets and swords anymore.

What is min voting?

A min voting method is any voting method where each voter picks one candidate (min voter input). This mechanic applies even if the “picking” iteratively happens as it does with instant runoff voting, preferential voting, ranked-choice voting, top-four-top-five voting, or single transfer vote voting.  Min voting divides a population by percentages of votes, pluralities, majorities, and minorities.

What is max voting?

A max voting method is any voting method where each voter evaluates each candidate independently of other candidates (max voter input).  Max voting methods produce high scores or high average scores but do not divide a population into percentages, pluralities, majorities, or minorities.

Why does min voting divide use?

If a candidate wins with a 51% majority they have demonstrated two things.  First, they know they can safely ignore the minority 49% and get elected, and, second, they must keep faith with the 51% if they want to be re-elected. As voters can only vote for one candidate, they will tend to vote for the candidate politically closest to them. In placing their political platform, candidates need to balance the number of voters near their political position (the largest mass of voters forming the majority opinion) with political distance to other candidates. Due to this, min voting creates two power positions, one to the left of the majority opinion and one to the right. The political fringes are weaker due to fewer voters; the majority opinion location is weaker due to proximity to other candidates.

Why does max voting unite us?

Because voters can demonstrate support to every candidate independent of others, all candidates have an incentive to place their political platforms as close to the majority opinion as possible.  As candidate platforms converge, party differences blur, party affiliation becomes inconsequential, collaboration increases, gridlock disappears, and gerrymandering ends.  Finding the majority opinion requires candidates to listen to all of their voters, but voters are not required to change their views, come to a consensus, or have more civil dialogue.  We unite in spite of ourselves.

How do we get max voting?

  • Learn more here.
  • Register your support to institute some form of max voting method here.
  • When we reach supporter level 7 (~3% of the population), you will decide the type of max voting you want (range, runoffs, & “no opinions”—different configurations create approval voting, or STAR voting, etc.)
  • When we reach supporter level 9 (~13% of the population), we will initiate the signature campaign for ballot measures and/or state legislative actions to institute your form of max voting.

Min voting divides us, but max voting unites us without needing to change us.  Do you have a reason not to unite?

FacebookTweetLinkedInPin

Filed Under: DC Authors Tagged With: Election Methods, Thomas Paine

About Ted Getschman

Ted Getschman has spent years examining the challenges of American polarization from an international viewpoint as he worked with U.S. ally and partner nations during his service as a U.S. Naval Officer.

His personal studies of election methods and voting theory, as well as his work in boardgame design led to his conclusion that solving our national division requires seeing political candidates as players and our election methods as defining their winning strategy and the driver of their actions, either to tear the nation apart or bring it together.

He holds a Master’s of Science in International Relations from Troy State University and developed the Swarm Age on-line tool which he continues to refine for the nation-wide Score Voting Movement. Those interested can find there a draft of his upcoming book, Solving America: How America’s Voting Methods Create Political Polarization, Government Gridlock, and Ignored Voters, and How Score Voting Methods Solve These Problems (and Why Ranked Choice Voting Can’t).

Some highlighted Democracy Chronicles topics

Africa American Corruption American Local Elections American State Elections Asia Capitalism and Big Business Celebrity Politics China Democracy Charity Democracy Protests Democrats Dictatorships Education Election History Election Methods Election Security Election Transparency Europe Internet and Democracy Journalism and Free Speech Middle East Minority Voting Rights Money Politics New York City and State Elections Political Artwork Political Dissidents Political Lobbying Redistricting Republicans Russia Socialism and Labor Social Media and Democracy South America Spying and Privacy Supreme Court Third Party Voter Access Voter ID Voter Registration Voter Suppression Voter Turnout Voting Technology Women Voting Rights Worldwide Worldwide Corruption

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home | DC AUTHORS | Common Sense for Uniting America

Primary Sidebar

Advertise button

The Christian Evangelical Church

By Jack Jones January 22, 2023

I am not against Big Business having a voice, just not all the voices, and especially not an impersonator pretending to speak for God.

No One In Monterey County Is Good Enough To Serve In Legislature

By Joe Mathews January 9, 2023

California’s “democratic reforms” have left a place as… [key] as Monterey County without any state representation from one of its own.

democracy chronicles newsletter

DC AUTHORS

In America, the Joe-mocracy Rules

By Joe Mathews December 27, 2022

A republic? A democracy? No, our country is an avuncular autocracy run by old guys named joe.

Property Rights, Indiana-Style

By Andrew Straw December 24, 2022

Indiana’s justices have replaced constitutional property rights with ad hominem politics. Replacing them starts with better governors.

To The American Oligarchs: Lay Off Us

By Jack Jones December 21, 2022

No matter how many jobs are ruthlessly pulled out from under us, we are still going to do what it takes to put food on the table.

Indiana’s Irrational Ballot Access System

By Andrew Straw December 4, 2022

Opposing the potential 2024 retention of the Chief Justice Loretta Rush will be key to preventing disability discrimination bad blood in Indiana courts.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden’s Loan Forgiveness program

By Jack Jones November 24, 2022

What is unlawful is the Texas federal judge’s decision to strike down President Biden’s loan forgiveness program, not the program itself.

DeSantis Battles Trump in Florida Steel Cage Match

By Steve Schneider November 20, 2022

We take you now to the much-anticipated DeSantis-Trump steel cage match, in which “DeSanctimonious” has promised to “kick Trump’s ass.”

Why Gambling Can’t Really Lose In California

By Joe Mathews November 2, 2022

When state voters approved an expansion of casino gaming, gaming interests assured us that gambling here would be governed by strict limits.

MORE FROM OUR AUTHORS

VISIT OUR POLITICAL ART SECTION:

dc political art

DEMOCRACY CULTURE

Girl Scouts Earn Democracy Badge At Workshop In Salina

Girl Scouts Earn Democracy Badge At Workshop In Salina

January 26, 2023

The workshop assisted Girl Scouts in grades K–10 in earning their Democracy Badge through learning activities on democracy.

Study: Media Can Reduce Polarization By Telling Personal Stories

Study: Media Can Reduce Polarization By Telling Personal Stories

January 26, 2023

Sharing personal experiences and pairing them with facts reduces political dehumanization and increases political tolerance.

Study: 2020 Election Resulted In Increased Anxiety And Depression

Study: 2020 Election Resulted In Increased Anxiety And Depression

January 7, 2023

A review of 2020 Household Pulse Survey data reveals that as an election nears, people in [America] report more depression and anxiety.

Key Iran Labor Sectors Launch Major Strikes

Charlie Hebdo Caricatures Iran’s Mullahs

January 7, 2023

The satirical weekly is publishing a special issue on Wednesday, January 4, mocking Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in support of the protests…

First Impressions Are Strongly Influenced By Political Partisanship

First Impressions Are Strongly Influenced By Political Partisanship

December 22, 2022

How we perceive strangers or the impressions we have about them, particularly their faces, is influenced by political partisanship.

MORE CULTURE

VISIT OUR US DEMOCRACY SECTION:

American Democracy