Libertarian candidate wants to change voting system

Libertarian candidate for secretary of state Paul Hager said he is the only candidate with a solid platform issue on which to run. \nBloomington Mayor John Fernandez is the only candidate currently running as a Democrat. Kent Benson, former IU basketball player, is one of the Republican candidates running for office. \n"When you come right down to it, most of the other secretary of state candidates don't have an issue," Hager said. \nHager, an engineer for a military developer, admitted that the position itself does not have much power, but his issue is one of voting reform. This is his main issue and one that he will pursue to completion if elected. \n"The only reason people run for secretary of state usually is so they can be groomed for a run at the governor's or senator's office," Hager said. "Secretary of state administers the voting laws, and this can be very important." \nHager's Web site states how important an example the 2000 presidential election situation in Florida was.\nHager's main concern is the current majority vote system in place in the United States, where the candidate with the most votes wins. This, Hager said, contributes to the disempowerment of third parties and the continuation of two party dominance. \n"The reason people choose the lesser of two evils is because that is the best choice they could make in the current system," Hager said.\nHager's alternative is a system called approval voting. In approval voting, voters cast votes according to who they do not want in office. For example, if there are three candidates, and a voter does not like candidate one, the voter can cast votes for candidates two and three. If a voter only likes candidate two, then they only vote for candidate two, and so on. \nThis system would lead to a larger vote total, but, Hager said, would result in a better cross-section of voter opinion, and would therefore increase voter turnout at the polls.\nIn the past, voting reform has been a constant issue in the Indiana legislature, but Hager called current Secretary of State Sue Anne Gilroy's voting reform suggestions "band-aids."\nGilroy's Web site said that, as secretary of state, she has sought to develop a bipartisan Election Reform Commission. The commission's job is to study the formation of a statewide computerized voter registration system. \nHager wants to increase awareness about the position of secretary of state and the importance it holds. \n"(The state) could have a profound change that would open up the voting system and encourage voters to return to the polls," Hager said. \nHager said the approval voting system could also change the nature of political campaigns, eliminating negative campaigning.\nThe Republican candidate will be determined in June. Junior Daniel O'Neill, president of IU College Democrats, told the IDS on Jan. 23 that the group was waiting to campaign until the Republican candidate was announced.\n"It will be interesting to see who the Republican candidate is," O'Neill said. "It's rather difficult to start campaigning before the mayor knows his opponent."\nHe did not mention Hager's candidacy or it being a threat to Fernandez.\nThough Hager is running as a libertarian, he says he would have the same concerns if he were a member of any other party. Still, his hopes are high.\n"I may be the first libertarian candidate for statewide office that has a chance to win," Hager said.