Wednesday, July 06, 2005

The Olympics know how to pick a candidate

The Olympics have figured it out.

When they have five cities to pick from (New York, Paris, Moscow, Madrid and London), do they hold a U.S.-style election where the winner doesn't have to get more than 50% of the votes?

Heck no.

They have a runoff election.

If no city gets a majority of the vote, then they knock off the city that came in last and they vote again.

And in the final showdown of Paris versus London, finally, London earned a majority of the vote.

We should elect presidents (both U.S. and Cook County Board) this way, especially in primary elections.

Hold a runoff! Earn more than 50% of the vote or vote again!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I like Australia's model. It's complicated but I think it actually makes sense.

First off, Australia has mandatory voting (w/stiff fines if you don't). Second, in most Australian elections you rank the candidates according to preference instead of just voting for one.

But we U.S.) can't seem to allow people in minority areas of close states to vote in our important national elections. Our 2 party system is broken.

Investigate Ohio 2004!