Necessities and Possibilities in a Changing World

Technological advance is changing, more than anything else, the means of communication in our society. Letters become e-mails, papers become electronic, and geographically centered interest groups become sprawling electronic associations. One of the most important kinds of communication – the way in which citizens participate in democracy – must necessarily adapt itself to this new paradigm. This creates new opportunities for untold efficiency, but also new risks for fraud. This site exists to argue for a bright possibility unlocked by electronic methods: the implementation of a new and more effective election system: CondorcetThe general term for any election method that uses ranked ballots and has, as it's first princple, the Condorcet Criterion: any candidate which beats every other candidate individually must win the election. Any Condorcet method must come along with an ambiguity resolution procedure for cases in which there is no winner by this first criterion. voting.

The traditional PluralityThis is the voting system currently used for most American elections. Each voter chooses only one candidate, and the winner is the candidate with the most votes. election system has always contained an insidious problem, which so far has had no practical solution. This is the problem of strategic voting: selecting the lesser of two evils because one’s preferred candidate cannot win. Though potential solutions exist, practical considerations have always made them impossible with tradition vote collection and counting procedures. Electronic techniques provide a unique opportunity to solve this two-centuries problem and make democracy more effective. Simultaneously, electronic methods are making political organization and advocacy more easy and efficient; if an effective and fair multi-party system could emerge, this vibrancy of political advocacy can gain steam and give the people unprecedented new voice. The evolution of the internet will continue to reveal the frontiers of potential positive change, and simultaneously make this change more practical. We must, however, be wary of the dangers inherent in internet methods, and this site does not yet advocate them.

The optimal nature of Condorcet will not change, but the means by which it can be implemented are constantly changing, and will continue to change. In even five years there will be new security measures and new potential pitfalls. This site exists to keep abreast with these changes, and continue to advocate for what seems to be the best possible system in the current world.

At the same time, this site must serve to keep in check those who would overzealously trust the new over the old. The risks of the internet are well-established, and likely will only grow. This site must be responsible in its prescriptions, and bear in mind the hazards any paradigm shift may cause. At all steps in the process this site must also advocate hard, trustworthy auxiliary precautions to ensure that if new, unforeseen risks emerge, the old ways are not lost.

This site exists to propose faith in ideals. These ideals shall never change, but their practicality will, but I see no reason that, as the times evolve, the basic principles advocated herein will require revision.