Comments by "wvu05" (@wvu05) on "Approval Voting: Better Than Ranked Choice?" video.

Approval voting seems to me to be quite a ridiculous notion. Ultimately, you have to pick someone. Just saying "who do you like?" would lead to candidates saying nothing just to try to get approval. This is the exact opposite of what we should want.
3
@PoochieCollins No, approval voting encourages mushy candidates who say nothing. Ultimately, there has to be a mandate for the winner.
3
@PoochieCollins The tendency in politics is not to offend. I don't know if you have ever run for office, but I can tell you how strong that trend is. If you aren't even ranking someone, but just saying you like this person, that trend will be magnified. And if you don't think that trend is real, look just how vague the pronouncements were of Obama in 2007 and Bush in 1999, when both were on the rise.
2
@PoochieCollins He would not have won the general with ranked choice, because he would have had to have been the second choice of over 3MM more people than Hillary was. And primaries are a very different animal than the general.
2
@PoochieCollins If your argument ends with no supporting evidence, and you say, "I still prefer X," that is not a good sign for your argument.
2
@PoochieCollins My point was that approval voting leads to milquetoast candidates who say nothing. Quite frankly, the only system where he would have won is the Electoral College. You responded when I gave examples of milquetoast candidates saying nothing and said that would kick into overdrive. If there is no statement of preference, the system will lead to more of that. You will also see a lot of people only voting for one candidate, so there is a lot that it won't solve. I'd rather have the one system that guarantees a majority support and a chance for minor candidates to enter without playing spoiler.
2
@PoochieCollins Did either get to a majority? I love Bernie, but he doesn't prove your point.
1
My understanding was that it was a four-way race and the third place candidate won because the last place candidate was eliminated in each round. I would prefer that the top two only make it in rather than last place getting eliminated. That way, the person who wins gets a broad range of support.
1