My sister keeps complaining that the UK is ruled by a two party system, and due to this, it is close to impossable for anyone other than labour or tory to get voted in. Now I can't say I understand why this is the case, but she says it is... and this surely can't be fair? So does anyone know the soloution? If there is in fact one? Is there a way to make the voting system fairer?
Instant runoff voting is probably the best way to open up the political process to smaller parties. It allows voters to rank candidates according to their preference. If they rank the Green candidate first, but he gets eliminated from the running due to a low number of overall votes, then their second choice gets counted. That way, they're not "wasting" their vote on the Green candidate.
Glad you brought this up! I believe this will work wonders in eliminating the wasted vote syndrome. Be sure to check out the following websites: http://www.instantrunoff.com http://www.fairvote.org/irv
Being active in the Green Party we have been fans of instant runoff voting for a long time. I don't feel that my votes are wasted either way though because I vote for what I believe in. Not for a party, not for charisma, but rather someone who can represent what I believe to be important and who will vote the way that I want them to, regardless of who is paying them off.