On March 1, the Alabama Senate unanimously passed SB 15. All Alabama legislators have four-year terms. The bill says if a legislative vacancy occurs in the second half of a four-year term, the seat would simply remain vacant until the next regular election.
This change requires a change in the state Constitution, so if it passes, the voters would vote on it. The rationale for the bill is to save costs associated with holding special elections. The sponsor is Senator Rusty Glover (R-Semmes).
Candidate/Member replacement lists during election time/term.
The United Coalition can coordinate write-in campaigns while drawing from pools of candidates so we will have plenty of consecutively ranked names as back-ups.
The United Coalition has been using PPR for more that twenty-three consecutive years and PPR works fine.
http://www.international-parliament.org/ucc.html
I’m not sure you are reading it correctly. The bill says that if the vacancy occurs after October 15 in third year of the quadrennium. The last general election was November 2014. You are reading it as if 2016 were the third year of the quadrennium. But if that is true, then we are now in the fifth year of the quadrennium, which is unlikely even in Alabama.
Alabama legislators take office the day after they are elected, and terms expire the day after the general election in the fourth year after election. Based on that, the first year of the quadrennium would be November 2014-November 2015; and the third would be November 2016-October 2017. So a vacancy after October 15, 2017 would not be filled. The filing deadline for the 2018 primary was February 10, 2018, and the primary is in June.
There are three special elections underway. In Alabama, there are special primaries, special primary runoffs, and special elections. The vacancies occurred before October 15, 2017, and the special elections will be in May (one will be in March because there was no need for primary runoffs). But a vacancy later in 2017 would likely result in a special election overlapping with the primary for the next term.
Alabama is so Alabama. They are leaving the language about the transition to four-year terms, which took effect in 1906. And the apportionment language has not been changed after ‘Reynolds v Sims’. Way down yonder in the land of cotton, old laws are never forgotten.
Israeli State Elections
Practice, practice, practice … repetition, repetition, repetition … ranked choice voting, ranked choice voting, ranked choice voting … the team, the team, the team.
Demonstrate teamwork by voting, not so much by rhetoric, team plays to get things accomplished for the team using pure proportional representation PPR.
We are electing the team as a United Coalition, we are electing the Unity Platform and we are planning to coordinate with our candidates for public office.
Israel doesn’t use PPR, they have a non proportional system, there is a 2%
threshold in Israeli elections.
But only half the seats are elected with 2% so who picks the other half of the seats in Israel? All 120 seat are elected at-large but then only 60 of 120 can be elected with a State threshold of 2%.
The correct way under pure proportional representation in Israel should be the math we use which is:
With 120 seats, we want the threshold to be 1/121th of the votes, the closest way to a 121-way tie.
You always add one to the number of open seats (120 + 1 = 121) so that we have the closest possible among the 120.
It is the same principle to elect one, the add one, so closest to a 50/50 tie to be broken by one vote.
The threshold should be .827 (plus one vote), and not the 2% they use in Israeli elections.
A .827% (plus one vote) will elect the 120 seats with the same, equal threshold, less than half of what they use.
120 seats elected with .827% each (120 x .827) equals a 99.127% guaranteed satisfaction level in Israel.
But with their current 2% threshold, the military or some associated group probably picks the 60 seats not elected, but I do not know.
That is a summary about how Israeli elections can be improved; drop the threshold to be proportional, under 1% (not 2%).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Israel
Min now is 3.25 Pct.
Party lists = top gangsters make the party lists = monarchy/oligarchy regime.
@DR,
Do you agree that the proposed amendment in Alabama would eliminate filling vacancies that occur after October 15 of the third year of a term (e.g. October 15, 2017 for a 2014-2018 term), rather than October 15, 2016?
ps I don’t think this has anything to do with Israel.
JR, higher standards in elections, is the common thread between Alabama and Israel.
Everyone wants the standards raised everywhere. There are differing opinions on whether pure proportional representation applies to both Alabama and Israel.
Ultimately, PPR is the standard to which all elections must match, no more plurality elections and single winner districts, we most eliminate the illegitimate practice everywhere and the All Party System, the United Coalition, and all those affiliated do meet the higher standards.
When people in Alabama and Israel learn the highest standards then they can evolve to the superior method.
Nothing less is acceptable but PPR in all elections.
http://www.international-parliament.org/ucc.html
JR
NO —
Candidate/Member replacement lists during election/term.
Legis bodies must be 100 percent filled as with 100 percent filled top Executive officers.
JO-
Basic PR — At large or with districts —
Total Party members = Total members x Total Party Votes / Total Votes
TPM = TM x TPV/TV
The 2015 Israel election wasted 4.5 pct of the valid votes — cast for the parties not getting the 3.25 pct min/threshold.
USA gerrymander elections waste about 40 or 49.99 pct of votes — depending on math of wasted votes.
About 75 plus percent wasted votes with basic gerrymander math —
1/2 or less votes x 1/2 rigged gerrymander districts = 1/4 Control
— ZERO real power for 3/4 plus.
—
PR and AppV
IF primary math *really* controls – then perhaps 85-95 percent wasted votes —
5-15 percent of all voters picking the later 1/2 gerrymander winners.
EG — what percent of Nov 2016 Prez voters nominated Trump in the 2016 Elephant Prez primaries / caucuses ???
NOOOO primaries / caucuses / conventions
PR and AppV
@DR,
What do you think the proposed amendment in Alabama would do (regardless of whether or not you favor the proposal).
JR-
Obviously – have some unfilled gerrymander hack vacancies and permit the remaining hacks to spend some more cash on non-election stuff — Plus — bigger bribes for the remaining gerrymander hacks.
Many smaller regimes have DARK AGE thinking — circa 1400 — monarchs/oligarchs doing their evil stuff.
@James Ogle: You have misdescribed the Israeli electoral system. They currently have a threshold of 3.25% for a party to be elected to any seats in the Knesset (parliament). The seats are allocated among the parties using proportional representation but considering only the parties that met the 3.25% threshold.
There aren’t any “60 seats not elected” nor is it the case that “the military or some associated group probably picks the 60 seats not elected.” That is just plain wrong.
I realize that the Israeli elections are not conducted according to what you would consider pure proportional representation nor are they conducted like your USA Parliament elections. But if you want to recommend a change to an election system, you have to understand what the election system is that you are changing.