Like a vote-trading scheme where I can give you my vote on this issue I don't care about, to buy your support on some other issue you don't care about?
I've contemplated that too, but I'm not sure it leads to better results. I think good results come from amassing voters who are genuinely engaged on an issue, and entrenching a means for them to become well-informed before casting their ballot.
A system to deliver that, blocks the noise of political issues I don't care about (I simply don't participate, which is a good outcome since my participation adds little-to-negative value) and surfaces those I do. It provides me with expert analysis, arguments and counterarguments (something like StackOverflow to bubble the best content to the top?). And it makes more economical and efficient use of my attention.
I'm not advocating for any vote trading or vote buying. I think both would be terrible. I'm saying that both are incentivized in a traditional voting system but we just don't see it happening. Therefore, the fact that they're incentivized in a quadratic system doesn't mean it would actually be a problem. I'd rather be able to verify that I voted yes on prop 1234.
It's not just whether or not vote-trading schemes are a good thing or not, but the unfortunate issue that if voter secrecy is weakened to allow for vote trading, then abuses such as forced voting, blackmail or coercion also become viable.
Comments
Like a vote-trading scheme where I can give you my vote on this issue I don't care about, to buy your support on some other issue you don't care about?
I've contemplated that too, but I'm not sure it leads to better results. I think good results come from amassing voters who are genuinely engaged on an issue, and entrenching a means for them to become well-informed before casting their ballot.
A system to deliver that, blocks the noise of political issues I don't care about (I simply don't participate, which is a good outcome since my participation adds little-to-negative value) and surfaces those I do. It provides me with expert analysis, arguments and counterarguments (something like StackOverflow to bubble the best content to the top?). And it makes more economical and efficient use of my attention.
I'm not advocating for any vote trading or vote buying. I think both would be terrible. I'm saying that both are incentivized in a traditional voting system but we just don't see it happening. Therefore, the fact that they're incentivized in a quadratic system doesn't mean it would actually be a problem. I'd rather be able to verify that I voted yes on prop 1234.
It's not just whether or not vote-trading schemes are a good thing or not, but the unfortunate issue that if voter secrecy is weakened to allow for vote trading, then abuses such as forced voting, blackmail or coercion also become viable.