

Ask HN: Review my web app - Modern Ballots - bradbeattie
http://modernballots.com/zombies/vote
I noticed a lot of distain for the two-party system and went about investigating alternatives. Modern Ballots is an attempt to make Schulze STV, a proportional representation algorithm, easy to use for anyone that wants to hold a vote.<p>Thing is, I'm not really all that savvy when it comes to UI design, marketing and all that stuff. Any suggestions on how to make this kind of thing more appealing? Electoral reform isn't exactly the sexiest of subjects, although it does entertain sporadic conversation.
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ericd
I've been wishing the US had a score based voting system for a while now, but
there are considerable obstacles: -Two dominant, incumbent parties that have
no incentive to make it easier for more parties. -A populace that is unlikely
to understand why one would even want to change the voting system, and why
score-based voting would enable more parties to rise. -Millions of dollars or
more invested in the current voting system.

to name a few.

Not to discourage you, though, I think it's great.

Education might be a good place to start, and that seems to be what you're
dabbling with in writing this web app. I'd be very interested to hear your
ideas regarding the other issues, though (and any other issues you think of).

I don't believe the current system is codified in the US constitution, though
I could be wrong - a friend and I couldn't find anything specifically
prescribing the choose one candidate ballot system of voting in the national
constitution when we looked. The specific methods might be decided at the
state level.

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wlievens
Not to rain on your parade here, but a multi-party system isn't paradise
either. I'm not saying the duopoly is better, but multi-party systems are
plagued with immobility, compromise for the sake of compromise, and lack of
differentiation. Any European cynic will repeat that for you.

~~~
ericd
I didn't say that I wanted a 3+ party system, the biggest advantage would be
that you wouldn't get a situation where voting for your favorite candidate
screws over your close second favorite but much more likely to win candidate,
as happened with Gore in 2000 when a percentage of his would-be supporters
voted for Nader instead.

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bradbeattie
I noticed a lot of distain for the two-party system and went about
investigating alternatives. Modern Ballots is an attempt to make Schulze STV,
a proportional representation algorithm, easy to use for anyone that wants to
hold a vote.

Thing is, I'm not really all that savvy when it comes to UI design, marketing
and all that stuff. Any suggestions on how to make this kind of thing more
appealing? Electoral reform isn't exactly the sexiest of subjects, although it
does entertain sporadic conversation.

~~~
patio11
Don't most elections for which proportional representation is realistically
feasible involve democratic governments above the local level, with tens of
thousands of voters, serious worries about electoral malfeasance, and sales
cycles which require legislation or in some cases Constitutional amendments?

These are not things I would go looking for if I were trying to start a small
software business. I mean, in terms of "barriers to achieving conversion",
passing a Constitutional amendment is pretty up there.

Not quite sure if that is relevant for what you are doing. If you're trying
for a political movement, rather than a web app per se, you might want to lead
with an example of a real election rather than a zombie gag.

~~~
bradbeattie
The largest hurdle I see in electoral reform is broadening people's
expectations of a ballot, which is all I'm really trying to do with this app.
Approaching the problem from a legislative angle is hyperbolically analogous
to asking a dictator for fairer representation. People need to see that other
systems aren't all that difficult firsthand before anything happens.

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Avenger42
Great app! Really enjoyed it, and definitely will help people get a more
visual understanding of how these sorts of ballots could work in real
elections in the future.

