Posted by drd on April 04, 2001 at 20:44:15:
Why is a block vote so powerful? Here is an illustration.
Two candidates run against each other in a hypothetical political
district that has two constituent groups only. One group has 1
million
voters and the other has 10 million voters. Candidate A, a novice,
eagerly focuses on the large group, not being aware that the small
constituent group has the internal political cohesion to deliver a
bloc-
vote while the large group does not.
Candidate A wins the endorsement of most community leaders in
the large group. When the ballots are open, he indeed wins in the
large community. He wins 52% of that community's votes, while his
opponent gets 48%. The difference between 52% and 48% is 4%.
The large group has 10 millions votes. 4% of 10 million votes
provides
a margin of difference, or a "PROFIT," of 400,000 votes to candidate
A.
His opponent, candidate B, is a seasoned politician. She courts
the
small group and wins that little community by a ratio of 80 to 20, the
name sake of The 80-20 Initiative. The difference between 80% and
20% is 60%. 60% of 1 million vote provides a "LARGER PROFIT" of
600,000
votes.
As a result, candidate B wins the election by 200,000 votes.
That is
the POWER OF A BLOCK VOTE.
In California, the APA population is 1/9 that of the rest of the
population, similar to the example given above.
**************
80-20 is a nonpartisan political action committee aiming to win equal
justice and equal opportunity in workplaces for Asian Pacific
Americans
through a SWING block vote. For more details, visit http://www.80-
20initiative.net