The Media and Approval Voting

In our current plurality system the media plays a unique role. By pinpointing the front runners, they help inform voters about which candidates are "viable" and therefore worthy of a vote. In other words, the media gets to decide, through polling or less objective means, which candidates qualify as one of the "two evils" in the selection of the "lesser of two evils."

Of course this role engenders a lot of hatred towards the media. Much of this hatred is unwarranted since the media plays this specific role only because the plurality voting system demands it of them.

In the switch to Approval Voting, the media would not be as obliged to act as a screener for selecting front runners. However the media would be obliged to provide more information on all candidates since every voter gets to vote up or down on every candidate.

One notable advantage of Approval Voting is that polling the public about their political preferences would be easier. Currently polling can be tricky since the inclusion or non-inclusion of minor candidates can wreck the validity of the poll. With Approval Voting, however, asking likely voters about their approval of a given candidate directly translates to likely election results.

Of course there is a major disadvantage to the media with Approval Voting. That is the simple fact that the incentive for candidates to "go negative" and rely on attack ads would be reduced in elections with three or more candidates. This would reduce the sensational aspects of modern campaigns which some media outlets would perceive as bad for business. Of course it would also mean the re-emergence of issues and messages as the key component of political campaigns. Therefore media outlets that are able to do a good job helping voters understand all of the issues and all of the candidates would likely be rewarded with Approval Voting.

Ultimately we think that Approval Voting would be good for the media. Without the heavy burden that they now have of selecting front runners, they will engender more good will and this will be good for business. There is no reason to believe that sensational headlines will go away entirely during campaign season. They will simply occur less often with Approval Voting. This might actually be a good for the media as the public is demonstrating a growing willingness to turn off the media entirely rather than subject themselves to the voracious and outrageous negative campaigning that is the hallmark of today's campaigns.