Residents get 6 votes each in suburban NY election

[Lace Neil Singer]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100615/...ights_election

So, rather than educating the Hispanics so they know more about the election and can make a rational choice on who to vote for, instead they give each one six votes each. Just how is that fair? One person = one vote is how it's always worked, and this kind of thing is like hiring non whites on a quota; it doesn't promote equality at all. In fact, it implies that non whites need extra help, cuz they're stupid or something.

[draggar]

Ah, election fraud at it's best.

The whole purpose is disgusting:

Furano cast multiple votes on the instructions of a federal judge and the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a new election system crafted to help boost Hispanic representation.

The elected "representatives" are exactly that - elected to represent the majority (meaning the people who voted them in). Giving one ethnicity or group of people more votes than others is illegal.

[Arcade Man D]

Ah, election fraud at it's best.

Actually, considering that every resident got the 6 votes, not just Hispanic residents, it's an example of a perfectly valid voting system, cumulative voting.

Cumulative Voting: Each resident gets X votes, which they may apportion among each candidate as they so choose.

[Boozy]

Cumulative voting is often discussed here in Canada as a solution to the problems caused by having so many different political parties.

I've always liked the idea.

I don't understand how this could possibly be consider "fraud".

[draggar]

Actually, considering that every resident got the 6 votes, not just Hispanic residents, it's an example of a perfectly valid voting system, cumulative voting.

Cumulative Voting: Each resident gets X votes, which they may apportion among each candidate as they so choose.

Ah, that I don't have an issue with - the article is making it sound like Hispanic voters get 6 votes.

[linguist]

the astounding level of ignorance and racism in many of the comments on that article saddens me.

[HYHYBT]

It would perhaps sound better if, instead of saying that everyone gets six votes, it had been described as dividing your one vote into six pieces. Amounts to the same thing, anyway, and while most people probably would put all theirs into their first choice anyway, it's great for those who aren't completely decided, or who like more than one, but not all, of the candidates. (I'm not sure, though, why the one who gave one vote to each of them bothered showing up at all.)

[linguist]

It would perhaps sound better if, instead of saying that everyone gets six votes, it had been described as dividing your one vote into six pieces. Amounts to the same thing, anyway, and while most people probably would put all theirs into their first choice anyway, it's great for those who aren't completely decided, or who like more than one, but not all, of the candidates. (I'm not sure, though, why the one who gave one vote to each of them bothered showing up at all.)

There were 13 candidates; that person gave one vote each to the six she liked best.

[HYHYBT]

Oh, that's different then