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OmahaBlueDog

(10,000 posts) Tue May 22, 2012, 10:13 PM May 2012

If you had your way, how would the primaries look in 2016?

I'm not talking about who will run, but how the voting for the nominee takes place.

Maybe you like things the way they are now?

Or, maybe you'd like to see the state voting dates reset into some order different than today?

Maybe a two-tier national primary, or a single tier with "instant run off"?

Perhaps the whole primary system should be scrapped in favor of caucuses?

A DU Poll, maybe?

8 replies

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If you had your way, how would the primaries look in 2016? (Original Post) OmahaBlueDog May 2012 OP

First of all Citizens United BANNED! Campaigns can only spend $100 for advertising. lookingfortruth May 2012 #1

OK let's do this. Ranked choice voting. limpyhobbler May 2012 #2

I like both of those ideas OmahaBlueDog May 2012 #8

Brown or Biden WiffenPoof May 2012 #3

Like a cross between 'Gladiator,' 'The Running Man,' and 'The Hunger Games.' RZM May 2012 #4

Thunderdome! OmahaBlueDog May 2012 #7

Very short and inexpensive and all the candidates attached to lie detectors. Tierra_y_Libertad May 2012 #5

Two words RogerShuler May 2012 #6

lookingfortruth

(263 posts)

1. First of all Citizens United BANNED! Campaigns can only spend $100 for advertising.

Reply to OmahaBlueDog (Original post)

Tue May 22, 2012, 10:25 PM

May 2012

Candidates do at least 3 REAL debates.

limpyhobbler

(8,244 posts)

2. OK let's do this. Ranked choice voting.

Reply to OmahaBlueDog (Original post)

Wed May 23, 2012, 01:31 AM

May 2012

Whole country votes on the same day. Using paper ballots. Rank your choices in the order of your preference. This might be a sample ballot for me.

1 - Harkin
2 - Brown
3 - Clinton
4 - Kerrey
5 - Wilder
6 - Tsongas

To find the winner tally up each candidate's total rankings. Candidate with the lowest total wins. Or, ya know, rank them high to low instead, and then the candidate with the highest total wins.

What we have now is so unfair because only the people in a few early primary/caucus states have any say over the nominee. Or they narrow it down to a couple choices. If you live in a state that votes later in the primary season, you never had a chance to vote for Kucinich, or Dean, or Harkin, or others, unless you wanted to throw away your vote. It's so unfair.

Ranked choice let's you vote for someone with less apparent support without having to fear you are throwing away your vote, because the second and third choices also get counted and added to the total.