This seems like it might be a possible solution

[bunny planet]

To avoid chaos at our Convention

https://www.salon.com/2020/02/21/democrats-could-face-a-disaster-at-a-brokered-convention-heres-how-the-dnc-can-avoid-it/

Implementing ranked choice voting in the primaries and general elections everywhere would go a long way to avoid spoilers, help to establish viable third parties etc. I’m always puzzled that leadership never brings it up. In this polarized environment we find ourselves in, it seems like a promising solution.

[BBG]

1. Why would power cede viability to a 3rd party?

You answered your own question.

[Demsrule86]

2. Absolutely not...no help for third parties period.

And you even elect the GOP under that sort of thing sometimes...no.

[bunny planet]

6. oh you mean like Bloomberg

is planning to do at the convention anyway.....use the superdelegates in the second ballot to try and disenfranchise all the voters who've cast their votes in the primary. He's said as much. That's why he told Pete and Amy to get out of the race the other day....the arrogant POS. He can stay in to the bitter end of the primary with all his money....and then try and get to the second ballot to overturn whoever else is there. Nobody, no matter who you support or don't support should want that. Ranked choice voting could prevent it. If the candidate going in to the convention has the most delegates but the nomination is unfairly taken away, the Democratic party will not survive that. Bloomie will lose and the Democratic party will be perhaps irrevocably splintered and destroyed. Seems to me ranked choice voting to prevent that in the event of a brokered convention will be a small change to prevent that.

[bunny planet]

3. well ok then

guess avoiding spoilers isn't of interest because we can only have two parties in power in this country forever, and one of them is totally corrupt and steals elections, will do it again until we get to the point where we have one party rule....never mind that every other Western democracy has more than two parties and their elections are decided by the popular vote not an antiquated electoral college....we should just be fine with our entrenched system so that we can not give up power to third parties? That's not what ranked choice voting does at all. So I guess having someone run third party without ranked choice voting to protect against such spoilers is ceding power. How ridiculous, New York City has ranked choice voting, so does Maine now..and it would very possibly prevent the problems at the convention that we are potentially facing. But go on with your bad selves...

[honest.abe]

4. How does ranked choice help establish "viable third parties"??

[bunny planet]

5. By viable I mean that other parties in ranked choice or instant run off voting doesn't siphon votes

from the main party and voters have the freedom to vote your first choice in a third party without worrying about your vote contributing to a spoiler election. The word viable used in this context just means capable of working successfully, or feasible, not any more or less powerful. Here's how it works if you're not familiar...


https://ballotpedia.org/Ranked-choice_voting_(RCV)

"A ranked-choice voting system (RCV) is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, he or she is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated. First-preference votes cast for the failed candidate are eliminated, lifting the second-preference choices indicated on those ballots. A new tally is conducted to determine whether any candidate has won a majority of the adjusted votes. The process is repeated until a candidate wins an outright majority. This system is sometimes referred to as an instant runoff voting system.[1][2]"

For example: If a candidate you liked was running as an Independent....you choose them as your first choice, and then as your second choice the Democratic candidate....if your candidate in the Independent category doesn't get enough votes your second choice is then elevated to your first choice and no votes are siphoned off from the Democrat with anyone's votes for the Independent. Therefore, it makes the third party viable by allowing it to be a legitamate choice that doesn't destroy the chances of the main party candidate from winning.

Here's another site that discusses Ranked Choice Voting that shows all the places it's been implemented or is going to be implemented already....... I think for the convention, a relatively small amount of votes, it could work to dispel a disaster. https://www.fairvote.org/rcv#where_is_ranked_choice_voting_used

and an even more in-depth explanation here.... https://www.fairvote.org/multi_winner_rcv_example

[honest.abe]

7. Ok I think I got it but the use of the term "third party" is confusing in this context.

I would think Ralph Nader, Linden Larousse, Ross Perot, etc. when referring to a Third Party.

Thanks for the explanation.

[bunny planet]

8. yeah I guess

not sure how to express it otherwise....Independent party, Green party, if there is ever a Democratic Socialist party.....I guess they would all qualify as a third party because they aren't the main two.

but they wouldn't be able to spoil elections by running candidates in those alternative parties to the big two.

[honest.abe]

9. Ok, I think I get what you are saying now.

Thanks again.

[bunny planet]

10. I see what you mean, so I changed it

I hope I made it more clear.....it's any other parties putting forth candidates in an election alongside Dems and Repubs....could be three or four other parties too. I think for a large election like the general, it would take some planning to implement this system everywhere, maybe in swing states first.... but in general I wish our election rules were more consistent in both parties and in all states. and verifiable paper ballots are a must everywhere... to cut down on shenanigans.

[Retrograde]

11. Definitely ranked choice for primaries

especially primaries with such a large field as this year. I had a lot of trouble choosing between my top two this time: I would have preferred to rank them 1-2, then put my runners-up after them.

I think it would be a better indication of how deep the support for various candidates is.

[HarlanPepper]

12. How about we just move to an all primary system.

Simple. Problem solved. No need to over complicate it with this shit.