It is apparent that Eric Kleefeld lacks comprehension of electoral systems in his glorification of the two-party system currently in use in the United States (""U.S. two-party system ensures stability,"" April 23). Anyone who has studied comparative politics knows that the two-party system strangles debate on the left and right, forcing candidates to move to the politically safe middle. All Kleefeld offers for France is a system where voters routinely do not vote because the candidates are so similar. What America and France need is Instant Runoff Voting for its presidential elections.
IRV would alleviate both of Kleefeld's complaints. Instead of voting for one candidate, voters would rank the candidates in order of their choice. If no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote during the first count, then the candidate whose vote total was lowest would transfer his or her votes to the voter's second choice. This process continues until one candidate receives more than 50 percent of all votes cast.
In France's case, IRV would have eliminated a presidential race where both candidates combined received less than 40 percent of the primary vote. If IRV had been used in the United States during the November 2000 elections, it is almost certain that Al Gore would have won, because most of the first-place votes for Nader would have transferred to Gore, giving him more than the 50 percent needed.
Kleefeld should not gripe about the French electorate nominating a far right-wing candidate'despite the faults in France's system, he won fairly. I wonder if you could say the same about the current president of the United States.
