THE CORE

Fruits & Votes is the Web-log of Matthew S. Shugart ("MSS"), Professor of Political Science, University of California, Davis.

Perspectives on electoral systems, constitutional design, and policy around the world, based primarily on my research interests.

Also experiences with growing many varieties of fruit (always organic) and other personal interests. Please see the Mission Statement for more. (There is also an explanation of the banner.)

Other "planters" have been invited to contribute. Please check the "Planted by" line to see the author of the post you are reading.

Join the conversation. Comments are always open. Except, that is, when Word Press mysteriously shuts them down, which happens with distressing frequency.

Core principles:

Henry Droop on the "moderate non-partisan section"

Madison on "dangers from abroad" and "the fetters... on liberty"

The Head Orchardist's other sites:

PRESERVED FRUIT

Dikes and Votes: Consensus government and flood control

The 2008 candidates on political reform

More fundamental than the climate

The radical middle in US democracy

Re-sizing the House

If the USA had PR

MMP and dual candidacy

Canada's dysfunctional electoral system

The Hamas sweep: The electoral system did it

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    • 01 April 2010
    Preparing the Ground to Plant

    Planted by Steven L. Taylor
    Planted in: Blogging

    I thought I would write a quick intro post before doing some planting here in the orchard.

    My name is Steven Taylor and I am an Associate Professor1 of Political Science at Troy University. I blog over at PoliBlog on whatever strikes my fancy (mostly electoral politics and democracy).2

    I am the author of Voting Amid Violence: Electoral Democracy in Colombia and am currently working on a project with Matthew and two other co-authors on the US in comparative democratic perspective.

    I have known Matthew since I was an undergraduate at UCI and Matthew had just finished his doctorate. I shall not detail exactly how many years ago that was.

    BTW, it strikes me as odd (and hopefully not an omen) that I am starting this on April Fool’s Day…

    1. until 8/1. at which point the “Associate” part goes away. [↩]
    2. Matthew actual guest-blogged over at PoliBlog right before starting F&V. [↩]

    Propagation: Seeds & scions (0)

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    AMERICAN POLITICAL REFORM

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    PROPAGATION
    Recent comments.

  • Distortions of the US House: It’s not how the districts are drawn, but that there are (single-seat) districts (30)
    • Ed: This is another article where the writer attempted to draw non-partisan districts, using a set of criteria an independent commission could...
  • Do UK elections now allow fusion candidacies? (8)
    • MSS: Here is the text (see Jaffr’s link): After paragraph (2A) insert— “(2AA)If a candidate who is the subject of an authorisation by...
    • MSS: Let me call attention here to Jaffr. at comment #1, who notes the amendment to the ballot law was passed earlier in 2013. (This comment was...
    • Tom Round: > “would officially be Conservative-Li beral on the ballot” The UK only adopted ballot labels in the early 1970s, and...
    • DC: The Co-operative Party’s candidates run as “Labour & CooperativeR 21; (it describes itself as a sister party to Labour)....
  • Does STV have anything to do with absence of “free votes” in Ireland? (16)
    • MSS: I was sort of hoping this thread would be about free votes and STV’s possible role in them, but whatever… Uruguay has primary...
    • JD: Tom: There is far more variety than that. You have for example the compulsory primaries in Argentina, parties having primaries closed to party...
  • Is MMP in Ireland’s future? (6)
    • MSS: Yes, electoral-syste m change would require a constitutional amendment, which is why it is a topic of the Constitutional Convention. The...
    • Alan: I expect the sixth and last senate place to be decided by very small margins in a number of states. Voting below the line will have more than...
    • Tom Round: Sorry, I should clarify: A legal change to an explicit party list system would indeed require a referendum to amend the Constituti...
    • JD: Tom: I think the Irish probably DO like getting a choice among different candidates of the same party. Whether their leaders like offering that...
    • Suaprazzodi: That would be very said if Ireland abandon STV for an MMP system. Why would Ireland move from MMP to STV especially if the list...
  • BC election 2013 (16)
    • Errol Cavit: How could the pollsters be so wrong? A brief review by David Farrar (NZ pollster) on his Kiwiblog
  • sede vacante (53)
    • Alan: Benedict XVI was not a particularly good legislature*, although he was better than his predecessor. The palace gave the Queensland government...

    • CROSS-POLLINATION

    FRUITS

    morn_blms_corralito.jpg

    The Fruit Blog (Fruit & fruit breeding)
    Daley's Fruit Tree Blog
    Orchards Forever
    The Orchard Keeper
    The Ethicurean
    The Jew and the Carrot
    Small farms ("real people & real food")
    Life begins at 30 (Farmers markets, etc.)
    Banana
    Festival of Trees
    Rare Fruit News Online
    Cloudforest Cafe


    VOTES

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    Comparative democracy

    Psephos (Adam Carr's data archive)
    Electoral Panorama
    World Elections
    African Elections Database
    M. Herrera's Electoral Calendar
    Electoral Geography (Data archive)
    Michael Gallagher's data archive
    Election Finance (Blog, data archive)
    IFES
    Election Law (Rick Hasen)
    VoteLaw (Edward Still)
    Ballot Access News

    Electoral and Political Reform

    The FairVote Blog (US)
    Make my vote count (UK)
    Wilf Day (Canada)
    democraticSPACE (Canada)
    Citizens Assembly Blog (dormant)


    POLITOLOGY

    Blogs of political analysis

    PoliBlog
    Arms and Influence (dormant)
    Outside the Beltway
    Political Science Weblog (abstracts)
    Ideological Cartography (Adam Bonica)
    Frontloading HQ (Josh Putnam)
    FiveThirtyEight
    Vote View (Keith Poole)
    The Monkey Cage
    A Plain Blog About Politics (Jonathan Bernstein)
    Political Arithmetik (dormant)
    Polls & Votes
    Pollster.com
    Polysigh
    Reflective Pundit
    Rustbelt Intellectual
    Simon Jackman
    The semi-presidential one
    Josep Colomer
    Chapel Hill Treehouse (dormant)
    Political Behavior (dormant)
    Dart-Throwing Chimp
    Countries at the Crossroads (Freedom House blog)
    Jacob T. Levy

    REGIONAL ANALYSIS

    Canada

    The Mace
    ThreeHundredEight
    Crawl Across the Ocean
    Idealistic Pragmatist

    Europe

    Centre for European Politics
    Dr Sean's Diary
    A Fistful of Euros
    Political Reform (Ireland)
    UK Polling Report
    British Politics & Policy (LSE)

    Latin America

    Bloggings by boz
    Two Weeks Notice

    S.W. Asia & E. Mediterranean & N. Africa

    Informed Comment Global Affairs
    Lisa Goldman
    Michael J. Totten
    Yaacov Lozowick
    Marc Lynch (@FP)
    Ahwa Talk

    Africa

    La Constitution en Afrique

    E. Asia

    Frozen Garlic (Taiwan elections)

    New Zealand

    Kiwiblog
    No Right Turn

    OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCE BLOGS

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    ORGANIZATIONS

    About/disclaimer

    California Rare Fruit Growers

    Center for Voting and Democracy

    Californians for Electoral Reform

    Society for American Baseball Research

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    Bloggers who link or comment here (if not listed elsewhere on this page)

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    Alex Speaks
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    Cinerati
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    MF Blog
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    The Reaction
    Rodger A. Payne's Blog
    Round Objects
    Signifying Nothing
    Southerly Buster
    Jon Swift
    Two Weeks Notice
    We move to Canada
    Davka
    Frustrated Progressive

    HARVESTS

    If by my laws you walk, and my commands you keep, and observe them,
    then I will give-forth your rains in their set-time,
    so that the earth gives-forth its yield
    and the trees of the field give-forth their fruit.
    --Vayikra 26: 3-4

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    ORCHARD SERVICES

    F&V time: This blog's date function is so set as to start a new day at approximately local sunset. (Why, if we have "day" and "night," should a new "day" start in the middle of the night?)

    FRUITS: Support your local, organic growers; and, plant vines and fig trees and pomegranates for the generations to come...

    VOTES: For democratization and full representation, for environmental sustainability, social justice, and peace, always sincerely...

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