Charles L. Dodgson

“ The Elector must understand that, in giving his vote to A, he gives it him as his absolute property, to use for himself, or to transfer to other Candidates, or to leave unused. If he cannot trust the man, for whom he votes, so far as to believe that he will use the vote for the best, how comes it that he can trust him so far as to wish to return him as Member?
§ 4. Method for preventing the Electors in one District from being influenced by the results of Elections in other Districts. ”

“ Formula for determining, for each District, how many Members it shall return.
A preliminary question must here be asked, viz. are we to count population, or Electors only? I do not think it matters much which, as they probably vary nearly together, i.e. a District having twice the population of another would probably have twice as many Electors. The Formula can best be determined for the number of Electors: but if, in using it the number of population be substituted, it will make no important difference in the result. ”

“ On the other hand, no one, who has ever watched the progress of a General Election, can need to be reminded how obviously the local Elections of the later days have 'followed suit,' under the irresistible influence of those of the earlier days. ”

“ Another is that, as the quota, necessary to return a Candidate, could not be fixed till the poll had closed, it would be impossible to know, during the Election, whether a Candidate had or had not received votes enough to secure his return. Another is that, if part of the machinery went wrong, so as (for instance) to record a total of votes greater than the number of Electors, the mistake could not (as it can with voting-papers) be rectified, but the Election would have to be held over again. ”

“ J. Parker Smith, in a Pamphlet entitled "Preferential Voting," says (at p. 2) , "The course which is exactly fair to B and C is that the votes which are transferred should be divided between them in the same proportion as that in which the opinions of the whole number of A's supporters is divided." (This would require, in the above instance, that 3-5ths of the 2,000, i.e. 1,200, should be taken from the 'A B' lists, and 2-5ths, i.e. 800, from the 'A C' lists.) He adds, "This principle avoids all uncertainty, and is indisputably fair." ”

“ That Electors are liable to such influences may be proved both a priori and a posteriori. On the one hand, it is a tendency of human nature, too well-known to need proving, to surrender one's own judgment in order to be on the winning side. ”

“ The formula will of course have to be modified for each case, if it be agreed to give political weight to differences in rateable property, or to the distinction between town and country voters: and for this purpose rules would have to be laid down. ”