I’ve been involved in local government for many years, both as a volunteer, and as an elected official at different levels. I would urge any one with even a little time and interest to volunteer, run for office, attend town council meetings, or find some other way to participate. It is fun and interesting. Also, it puts you in a great position to keep an eye on what is happening before it is too late to affect the outcome if things are going the wrong way!

This is why I like approval voting. It allows there to be a many to many relationship between parties and candidates. A candidate can be endorsed by many parties and a party can endorse many candidates. If you only care about legalizing pot, you can just vote for all the candidates endorsed by the “Legalize Pot Party.” If you also care about net neutrality, you can also vote for all the candidates mutually endorsed by the “Legalize Pot Party” and the “Protect the Internet Party.”

You wouldn’t have to worry about who is more viable or what order to rank candidates. Every candidate would get an a boost from an endorsement and candidates would have to start paying attention to the issues that voters care about to stay competitive.

Under FPTP, you have to vote strategically and organizations have to give their endorsement strategically. Even in the primary, you have to worry about whether the candidate you like will be competitive in the general election.