Eric Prindle
@ericprindle.bsky.social
Minneapolis dad; liker of all the good things and disliker of all the bullshit; he/him
It sure is something that we've got Nazis out here making racist AI slop videos about the lead organizer of "Holidays on Hennepin," which my mom is looking forward to.
November 27, 2025 at 2:32 AM
It sure is something that we've got Nazis out here making racist AI slop videos about the lead organizer of "Holidays on Hennepin," which my mom is looking forward to.
Ha; just a few minor tweaks. I am certainly open to ideas. But I'm also going to need to get my sea legs.
November 27, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Ha; just a few minor tweaks. I am certainly open to ideas. But I'm also going to need to get my sea legs.
St. Paul cops were saying the same thing to protesters and legal observers at the RNC. It certainly seems to be an enduring story.
November 26, 2025 at 12:50 AM
St. Paul cops were saying the same thing to protesters and legal observers at the RNC. It certainly seems to be an enduring story.
The other thing I have not yet revealed to anyone on here except for the esteemed @joshmartinmpls.bsky.social is that I have been appointed to serve on the Charter Commission starting Jan. 1. So if the Hill & Lake crowd are serious about pushing for at-large seats, I will be part of that discussion.
November 25, 2025 at 6:09 PM
The other thing I have not yet revealed to anyone on here except for the esteemed @joshmartinmpls.bsky.social is that I have been appointed to serve on the Charter Commission starting Jan. 1. So if the Hill & Lake crowd are serious about pushing for at-large seats, I will be part of that discussion.
I think it is fair to say that, at the time, I was a dyed-in-the-wool STV enthusiast. After seeing it work in practice, I have more nuanced views. Once again, I do not support adopting any form of at-large voting for City Council.
November 25, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I think it is fair to say that, at the time, I was a dyed-in-the-wool STV enthusiast. After seeing it work in practice, I have more nuanced views. Once again, I do not support adopting any form of at-large voting for City Council.
As for my background, I am an attorney — not currently authorized to practice, but 2.5 CLE credits away from solving that problem. I have not litigated any VRA cases, but during law school, I interned at FairVote, and analyzing the intersection of STV and the VRA was part of the job.
November 25, 2025 at 6:09 PM
As for my background, I am an attorney — not currently authorized to practice, but 2.5 CLE credits away from solving that problem. I have not litigated any VRA cases, but during law school, I interned at FairVote, and analyzing the intersection of STV and the VRA was part of the job.
Multi-seat and multi-district are different things. The city in question replaced their at-large plurality system with an at-large, multi-seat STV system to settle a VRA claim.
November 25, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Multi-seat and multi-district are different things. The city in question replaced their at-large plurality system with an at-large, multi-seat STV system to settle a VRA claim.
There is no "should have" in my analysis. I am describing a system that worked as designed. Everything you're pointing out is a characteristic of STV that makes it very different from any system that has ever been struck down under the VRA.
November 25, 2025 at 5:54 PM
There is no "should have" in my analysis. I am describing a system that worked as designed. Everything you're pointing out is a characteristic of STV that makes it very different from any system that has ever been struck down under the VRA.
Also, literally none of those things give you blue eyes.
November 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Also, literally none of those things give you blue eyes.
I mean, it may be harder to see in Minneapolis because we do not have a recent history of polarized voting along the lines of identity. But the same system is used in Northern Ireland, which very much does. And the result is that Catholics get elected in majority-Protestant areas and vice versa.
November 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
I mean, it may be harder to see in Minneapolis because we do not have a recent history of polarized voting along the lines of identity. But the same system is used in Northern Ireland, which very much does. And the result is that Catholics get elected in majority-Protestant areas and vice versa.
Yes; she was the favorite candidate of 22 percent of voters — by definition, a minority. An additional 8 percent of voters — still a minority — preferred her to anyone on the labor slate. The labor slate got more votes, so they got two seats. Most people didn't rank Forney, but she got a seat.
November 25, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Yes; she was the favorite candidate of 22 percent of voters — by definition, a minority. An additional 8 percent of voters — still a minority — preferred her to anyone on the labor slate. The labor slate got more votes, so they got two seats. Most people didn't rank Forney, but she got a seat.
Maybe you'd win. Maybe you'd lose. But if any effort to adopt at-large seats in Minneapolis proceeds beyond the stage of "idle talk in Kenwood," going around telling everyone it's illegal is simply not going to be good enough.
November 25, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Maybe you'd win. Maybe you'd lose. But if any effort to adopt at-large seats in Minneapolis proceeds beyond the stage of "idle talk in Kenwood," going around telling everyone it's illegal is simply not going to be good enough.
Yes, and plurality block voting is the system that has been struck down many times for violating the VRA. Multi-seat RCV has not. In fact, it has been accepted by the Justice Department as a remedy in at least one case. So to argue that it is dilutive would require making novel arguments.
Justice Department Reaches Agreement with City of Eastpointe, Michigan, Under the Voting Rights Act
The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into an agreement to settle a voting rights lawsuit with the City of Eastpointe, Michigan. The Department’s lawsuit challenges the method ...
www.justice.gov
November 25, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Yes, and plurality block voting is the system that has been struck down many times for violating the VRA. Multi-seat RCV has not. In fact, it has been accepted by the Justice Department as a remedy in at least one case. So to argue that it is dilutive would require making novel arguments.
Yet Forney won and Wilson lost, because the system gives a well-organized minority the ability to elect a preferred candidate. In this case, that minority was more moderate, less labor-oriented, mostly white folks.
November 25, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Yet Forney won and Wilson lost, because the system gives a well-organized minority the ability to elect a preferred candidate. In this case, that minority was more moderate, less labor-oriented, mostly white folks.
Olsen: 49,865
Frederick: 47,641
Wilson: 44,889
Forney: 44,103
McKelvey: 32,223
Schneider: 20,173
Turner: 19,306
Dowgwillo: 17,305
Frederick: 47,641
Wilson: 44,889
Forney: 44,103
McKelvey: 32,223
Schneider: 20,173
Turner: 19,306
Dowgwillo: 17,305
November 25, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Olsen: 49,865
Frederick: 47,641
Wilson: 44,889
Forney: 44,103
McKelvey: 32,223
Schneider: 20,173
Turner: 19,306
Dowgwillo: 17,305
Frederick: 47,641
Wilson: 44,889
Forney: 44,103
McKelvey: 32,223
Schneider: 20,173
Turner: 19,306
Dowgwillo: 17,305
If this year's Park Board election had taken place under at-large block voting, and every voter had voted for the same candidates they ranked in the actual election, Forney would have lost. Here's how many ballots each candidate was ranked on:
November 25, 2025 at 3:55 AM
If this year's Park Board election had taken place under at-large block voting, and every voter had voted for the same candidates they ranked in the actual election, Forney would have lost. Here's how many ballots each candidate was ranked on:
I assure you that I know how those votes are counted and have performed multi-seat STV counts myself in the past. That's how I knew that anyone who truly believed they could beat Forney with the "labor slate" was delusional.
November 25, 2025 at 3:55 AM
I assure you that I know how those votes are counted and have performed multi-seat STV counts myself in the past. That's how I knew that anyone who truly believed they could beat Forney with the "labor slate" was delusional.
Yes it is. That is how Meg Forney keeps getting elected. Because if at least 25% of the voters believe in reelecting Meg Forney, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks.
November 25, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Yes it is. That is how Meg Forney keeps getting elected. Because if at least 25% of the voters believe in reelecting Meg Forney, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks.
It is a system with fundamentally different characteristics than any at-large voting scheme that has ever been thrown out for violating the VRA. That doesn't preclude anything but certainly means it is not a slam-dunk case governed by well-established precedents like everyone is saying.
November 25, 2025 at 3:28 AM
It is a system with fundamentally different characteristics than any at-large voting scheme that has ever been thrown out for violating the VRA. That doesn't preclude anything but certainly means it is not a slam-dunk case governed by well-established precedents like everyone is saying.
Again, I am not in favor of at-large seats. But I do not think it's as simple as saying we can't do it because it's illegal.
November 25, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Again, I am not in favor of at-large seats. But I do not think it's as simple as saying we can't do it because it's illegal.
STV does not solve the problems of:
• Less affluent parts of the city tending to have lower voter turnout
• Citywide elections favoring candidates who can raise more money
But arguing that either of those things constitutes vote dilution would require making some pretty novel arguments.
• Less affluent parts of the city tending to have lower voter turnout
• Citywide elections favoring candidates who can raise more money
But arguing that either of those things constitutes vote dilution would require making some pretty novel arguments.
November 25, 2025 at 2:58 AM
STV does not solve the problems of:
• Less affluent parts of the city tending to have lower voter turnout
• Citywide elections favoring candidates who can raise more money
But arguing that either of those things constitutes vote dilution would require making some pretty novel arguments.
• Less affluent parts of the city tending to have lower voter turnout
• Citywide elections favoring candidates who can raise more money
But arguing that either of those things constitutes vote dilution would require making some pretty novel arguments.
Under STV, a protected group that constitutes, for instance, 1/4 of voters gets to fill 1/4 of the seats, assuming voting takes place in a polarized manner. I don't see how a court is going to look at that and see vote dilution.
November 25, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Under STV, a protected group that constitutes, for instance, 1/4 of voters gets to fill 1/4 of the seats, assuming voting takes place in a polarized manner. I don't see how a court is going to look at that and see vote dilution.
(I would also be fine with multimember districts, like Dublin and Belfast have, but I don't know that having several dozen more councilmembers would go over well with everyone.)
November 25, 2025 at 1:36 AM
(I would also be fine with multimember districts, like Dublin and Belfast have, but I don't know that having several dozen more councilmembers would go over well with everyone.)
Well, that would definitely bring the VRA into the mix.
Honestly, after this year's very frustrating Park Board election, I think I now hate RCV for at-large seats, but my solution would be to get rid of them and go completely to districts.
Honestly, after this year's very frustrating Park Board election, I think I now hate RCV for at-large seats, but my solution would be to get rid of them and go completely to districts.
November 25, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Well, that would definitely bring the VRA into the mix.
Honestly, after this year's very frustrating Park Board election, I think I now hate RCV for at-large seats, but my solution would be to get rid of them and go completely to districts.
Honestly, after this year's very frustrating Park Board election, I think I now hate RCV for at-large seats, but my solution would be to get rid of them and go completely to districts.