If you want to see a real-world demonstration of what a rigged election looks like, look no further than Kanye West and his Republican operatives. My guess is that he knows what he is doing, but he doesn’t understand the full ramifications of his efforts. Myopia reins in our election systems throughout.
The first big secret we need to understand is that modern-day election outcomes depend upon a superficial view from the voter. That dependence can be seen in our mailboxes and hanging on our doors where expensive color flyers show a big picture of the candidate smiling and a few lines about what the candidate will “fight” for.
It would seem that if a candidate wanted to tell us about how they might represent us in office, they would send a simple, cheaper, position paper with details. Instead we get advertisements mirroring real estate flyers from those wanting us to move out and let them sell our homes netting a good amount of our investment.
This is where Kanye West comes in. In a “Most Votes” election system, the candidate that has the most votes wins. That’s a second secret, that depends upon the first. A simple tally of votes and an election victory is simple in a two-party system where a majority outcome is assured. Add a third viable candidate and the most hazardous opponent to anyone seeking office is a candidate whose values are the most closely aligned. That third candidate splits the vote.
Kanye West, a long-standing ally of Donald Trump, is setting himself up as a spoiler, but not against Mr. Trump. To date, he’s on the ballot in three states and they’re verifying signatures in six more.
Most of these are, or could be, swing states in the coming presidential election. All this is legal and shows how you can rig an election while claiming that the election is rigged.
I read this week about how symphony orchestras worldwide are using screens to block potential candidates for the orchestra from those who will be making the hiring decisions. These orchestras understand that bias is difficult to avoid. The result is that more women are playing in symphony orchestras worldwide.
Our election systems must mirror that. We can’t erect screens or avoid that happy family with platitudes trying to get a seat in government, but we can assure a majority outcome for our elections.
We can avoid candidacies like Mr. West’s that simply seek to play on our inherent and often unavoidable bias.
Ranked choice voting allows the voter to pick their first choice for office and then their second and so on. Not much more difficult than grocery shopping. If you decide to vote for West, for what ever reason, and he gets a clear minority outcome with no chance of victory, then his candidacy is eliminated, and those votes are released for a second tally with a second choice until a majority is reached and a winner declared.
In the end, we enhance minority values and ensure majority outcomes. Winning candidates will know more about the values that elected them and spoilers would become a thing of the past. As candidates seek our second choice, if they can’t get your first, the tendency to go negative is diminished. We might even find a way to eliminate the stranglehold that party primaries have on our democracy.
Then Mr. West can run for office, at will and without spoiling, though I’d bet that he wouldn’t. There are actors within and without who seek to hijack our elections. We let them at our peril.
