From Mark Dowson
Phil Stracchino makes the assumption that voters will be reasonably satisfied if their second choice is elected (3 May, p 20). This will not always be the case. Consider a hypothetical election in which the candidates are Mcbain, Oblama and Rader.
Forty per cent of the electorate (give or take a few per cent) think Oblama would be wonderful, Rader incompetent and Mcbain a disaster. Forty per cent think Mcbain would be wonderful, Rader incompetent and Oblama a disaster. The remaining 20 per cent think Rader would be wonderful and either of the others equally disastrous – and so pick their second choice, if any, at random.
There is no possible outcome – given this highly polarised electorate – in any voting system that would not leave the majority of the voters disgruntled.
Leesburg, Virginia, US
