2009/12/6 John R. Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
It has been suggested that we use the Instant-Runoff voting as called for
in our Rules of Procedure for other elections. ...
First, I believe that the process is difficult for many people to get
their mind around, unless they are VERY used to this process.
Even with Cambridge's significant voter turnover from one election to the next, it worked fine.
I agree with John. The number of people who need to be instructed on the voting method is less than 150, for the ALS representatives plus ALAC (plus some others, such as the EURALO council and NARALO individual members). Given that these people are either representatives of other bodies or themselves interested in ICANN affairs as individuals, I would suggest that this group is probably intelligent enough to understand the process *and* the point behind using an "order of preference" ballot as opposed to a 'first past the post' method.
The point of STV is that it removes the incentive to do strategic voting, in which you vote for a less preferred candidate because you think your favorite candidate has no chance. With STV your best strategy is to rank the candidates in your actual order of preference. You can vote for your favorite no-hope candidate, without risking being disenfranchised since you get a 2nd to Nth chance if he or she is knocked out.
Exactly. - Evan