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Old 16-11-2011, 02:24 AM   #156 (permalink)
Quaggas
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Adamc View Post
Hotelling's law doesn't apply to US politics that much as voting isn't compulsory. Candidates can do well by appealing to those most likely to vote (seniors, if The Simpsons is to be believed) rather than the voting age population as a whole. In comparison the major parties in Australia (where compulsory voting is enforced) have relatively much more similar political positions.
"That much" is the operative phrase. You still need a more compelling story to dispel the notion of a uniform distribution for actual voters. Talking about the actual election, not the primaries, btw.

Australian politics is blander than the stuff we have here, eh?
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