


Many Americans can decide their own policies. What will they choose?
Three issues will dominate state ballot measures in November
“I WANT YOU to pick a sport to award $1m to,” Sondra Cosgrove tells her audience. Ms Cosgrove, a community-college professor, is trying to teach Nevadans how ranked-choice voting (RCV) works. The five sports with the most votes in the first poll (the primary) advance. In the second poll (the general election) basketball wins more than 50% of votes in the first round, eliminating the need for a run-off. If no sport had won more than half of the votes, the last-place finisher would be eliminated and their votes reallocated based on how participants ranked them. This process would repeat until a clear winner emerged.
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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Taking the initiative”

Hurricane Helene wipes out North Carolina’s mountain towns
The storm is America’s deadliest in nearly two decades

Crypto bros v cat ladies: gender and the 2024 election
How the campaigns are exploiting and reshaping the battle of the sexes

A ports strike shows the stranglehold one union has on trade
East coast longshoremen are already among America’s best-paid manual workers
The vice-presidential debate was surprisingly cordial
Its high-minded tone worked to J.D. Vance’s advantage
Tim Walz is the most popular candidate on either ticket
How much difference does that make?
Harris’s and Trump’s economic plans both promise utopia
High spending, low taxes—and don’t worry about the deficit