Back in the Good Old Days
TIIK IMVKIIm i > near the turn of the century, watt wtill quite small. Villard hall, on the reft, ani
Deady hall, the first building; on the cam pus, were the main classroom buildings. On the far right
is the president’s house.
Preferential Voting System Reviewed
(Ed. note: Kor the |»ant sev
eral year*, all AKL'O election*
and (lam rlrdlunn have Ix-en
held under the preferential vot
ing nj'ttrm. In this article, the
system In explained.)
By Al Karr
Preferential voting, under ASUO
senate investigation after Thurs
day night's senate action, has a
fair measure of complication, im
portant advantages, and accord
ing to recent complaints certain
disadvantage*.
Current dissatisfaction with the
system, at Oregon since 1937,
fcrosc from the fact that presiden
tial candidates garnered all four
freshman class positions in the
freshman elections last week. All
were men. This was the result of
the "single transferable vote" prin
ciple of preferential voting.
The best way to explain how the
system works is to use this year's
freshman elections as an example.
First, though the presidential and
vice-presidential candidates were
listed before the candidates for
lepresentative, all 2.1 candidates
were in competition for one of the
four positions open, under the
preferential system variation used
by Oregon.
Masked by I “reference
Preferential ballots were mark
ed, according to preference, 1, 2,
3. 4. 5 -towards 25, for as many
Candidates as the voter wished.
In determining who is elected,
the total ballots are counted. Last
week there were 525 valid ballots.
Then the "quota" the total num
ber of votes necessary to elect a
candidate is determined:
1. Take the number of positions
open (4i.
2. Add 1 (making 5).
3. Divide the ballots cast (525)
by the figure (5), (making 105).
4. Add 1. The quota is 106.
Logic of the method is to obtain
the smallest number of votes
which will elect only four candi
dates.
The number "1" votes are count
ed first. If any candidate has the
quota on this count, he is elected.
The person with the most number
“1" votes is president, the second
person is vice-president, and the
next two are representatives, pro
viding all four have the quota.
More Distributing
If less than four, but at least
one, office is filled on the first
count, then the re-distributing pro
cess begins. The elected persons'
extra (above the quota) ballots
are distributed according to the
number “2” votes. Those candi
dates then having the quota are
elected, and their excess ballots
are re-distributed according to the
number "3" votes, and the process
continues in this fashion.
If, before the four offices are
filled, a re-distribution step leaves
on new quota for a candidate, re
’distribution is handled from the
bottom. The ballots of the person
with the fewest ballots are re-dis
tributed according to number “2"
votes. 1/ no new quota is obtained.
| the ballots of the candidate who
now has the fewest ballots are re
: distributed, and so on.
The process continues until four
persons, in this example, have the
quotu. If all ballots are finally dis
| tributed or exhausted (ballots are
j exhausted when they cannot be
! distributed to anyone because the
voter did not vote for enough peo
1 pie). and one office, for example,
; is still to be filled, then the only
! candidate remaining is elected,
| even though he does not have the
quota.
In the actual freshman election,
| President Bob Glass had more than
the quota on the first count; Vice
president John Tonack received
the quota on the first re-distribii
tion, Representative Bob Bosworth
. on a later re-distribution, and Rep
1 resentative Jim Light was the last
candidate in the race, having 69
ballots to Neil Meuiler's 68.
feed by ASliO
In spring term ASUO elections,
the above system is used for presi
dent-viec-president-senate-at -large
voting, and separately for each
class ballot.
Important advantage of the sys
tem. as Donald M. DuShane, direc
tor of student affairs, points out,
is that it represents the minority
according to the strength of the
minority, rather than "freezing
it out". "If a group gets a major
ity of the votes,” he said, “they
should have a majority on the sen
ate (for example), but they don't
have to hog it all."
Disadvantages
The disadvantage of the system
when the field isn't narrowed down
by political parties (as it is in
spring elections, and as it wasn't
in the freshman election), is that
presidential candidates only', may
be elected to all positions which
many consider unfair—and, as a
corollary, women may be frozen
out of any office, DuShane ex
plained.
This situation is reflected in the
( Please Turn to Page 16)
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