If you’re familiar with the HGTV program “International House Hunters,” you know that the buyers are confronted with three choices, and their first task is to eliminate one. In a nutshell, that is one of the objections to the second referendum; there are three choices, and the British public is not accustomed to that.
In my opinion, there are two fair ways to structure a referendum to deal with the three option problem. They are:
- Have a single ranked preference vote with remain, the May deal, and no-deal as the options. This has the advantage of only requiring one vote, and it ultimately results in a majority in favor of one of the alternatives. The down side is that the British people aren’t accustomed to ranked preference voting. But really, how complicated can it be?
- Rerun the first referendum question. If remain prevails, nothing more needs to be done. If leave wins, have a second round pitting the May deal against no-deal. This approach avoids the novelty of ranked preference voting, but it could involve multiple votes, which should be avoided, if possible.
The option that does not work is having a first round with just the May deal and no-deal, because supporters of remaining would be able to vote tactically to help their cause. That wouldn’t be fair to the leavers.
As to the other objections to the second referendum, tune in tomorrow.