Proportional Representation: Yay or Nay?
image c/o Elections BC twitter
As we have been studying, changing BC’s voting system from first-past-the-post to proportional representation has been a hot topic for years and is being put to a referendum by postal ballot from October 22nd – November 30th, 2018. Although we have studied this system, we haven’t really looked at the impact it may have on BC. Here is your chance to explore and make your voice heard.
Your task is to access the link to Election BC on the referendum and read through the voter’s guide and any other materials you choose to use (this can include websites, newspapers, local news or radio) to inform your ideas. Then you will comment in a post below on: COMMENTS HAVE NOW BEEN CLOSED FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT. YOU WILL NEED TO COMPLETE IT IN CLASS ON GOAL DAY OF YOU DIDN’T COMMENT ALREADY.
a) Which system of voting should British Columbia use in its provincial elections and why?
AND
b) If you choose proportional representation, which (sub)system of voting should we choose and why?
OR
b) If not proportional representation, continue your argument on why we should keep first-past-the-post.
OR
b) If not proportional representation or first-past-the-post, which voting system should BC adopt for our provincial elections and why?
Your post (approximately 250 words) should be written in the persuasive style and should be proofread for errors and style. Your post must be labelled with your class period, first name and last initial (ex. Per3 Dragana M.). My recommendation is to write it as a WordDoc or GoogleDoc before posting below in case something happens.
For an added bonus, if you send you post as a letter-to-the-editor of a local newspaper and get published, you will get some serious bonus marks.
Check out the video below for an explanation on electoral reform.
British Columbia should stop using the first-past-the-post and adopt a two round system as their (sub) system of voting. Why well it’s simple all candidates with more than 12.5% of the votes or the top two candidates they another round of election is made so that everyone is as happy as possible even though it takes longer the votes are shortened to make everyone pick what is best for hem after there is only 2 left. Two-Round-System has some problems similar to First-Past-The-Post such as wasted votes, it is often said that in the first round you vote with your heart, in the second you vote with your head. As there is less need to vote tactically. Last two or three weeks possibly longer loads of time to think. Simple to count. One of the bad parts for the Two-Round-System is that it favours larger parties but as Canada mostly only has parties it doesn’t change much.
As First-Past-The-Post the cons or quite severe such as creating two party systems, results in a single part governments without majority support there are more but those are the main ones. Every voters have a different idea about what to fix first and how which means no one can get majority votes. Representatives can get elected with small amounts of public support, FPTP (First-Past-the-Post) encourages tactical voting, as voters often vote against the candidates they dislike the most instead of who they prefer, can severely restrict voters choices
Made by Odin T (Block 2)
In my opinion, the BC’s voting system should change into the Proportional Elections, more specifically, Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system. Today in BC, we use First-past-the-post system, where voters choose their first choice of candidates, and whichever earns the majority will get elected. Granted, the FPTP system has some advantage such as voters can be clear of who they want to be in control, and it often doesn’t face the difficulties with financials. However, the disadvantage of FPTP system is what expresses that it is insignificant. Major disadvantage is that only thing it matters is that they only need 1 more vote than others, and it encourages tactical voting, where people vote for certain candidate, not because they prefer that candidate, but it is because that candidate is against the candidate whom people don’t like.
By implementing the sequence of MMP system, even the smaller party groups such as Greens have a higher chance of having seats at the legislative, since they only need no fewer than 3% of the popular votes in order to get four seats. This shows opposite of the “Winners-take-all” policy in FPTP, where the majority takes almost a half or more seats in the legislative. By following the MMP system, the legislative will be safe from one party overpowering the other parties. In addition, not only voters can vote to their favourite parties, but they can also vote for their local MP. So, not only voters can even out the power of the power of party in legislative, they also have opportunity to pick a right person who legislates in the parliament.
Made by James Y (Block 2)
I believe that after this referendum, our new system for voting should be by Proportional Representation(PR). This type of voting system not only gives the right to help BC citizens speak up for their wants, but also creates the opportunity for our voices to be heard. When our voices are heard, what happens in our province is done in the favour of us. Our current system is First-Past-The-Post(FPTP) which clearly does not provide a diversity of everyone’s wants and needs and the party that forms the government lacks support on behalf of the population. On the other hand, PR often leads to a coalition where it would represent citizens in a more effective way. Due to it rarely leading to an absolute majority, it requires the government to compromise and build consensus. When there are a variety of different parties, they all serve a different purpose. It provides a diverse province that allow new and different voices to be heard and to make a bigger difference. In addition to that, all vote counts. Meaning every single one of us, our vote matters and by voting, the party that we want to represent us is most likely going to win. At the end of the day, the results of our voting system comes down to how we think we should be represented as a province.
Of the three types of systems, we should choose Mixed Member Proportional (MMP). MMP usually allows two votes, one for the party and one for the candidate. Having two votes allows our voices to be heard from two different perspectives. In addition to having our voices heard from multiple point of views, the total number of seats a party gets is based on its share of popular vote province-wide. Since this is a form of PR and every vote counts, it is most likely that the party is very popular and would get the seat at the federal state having a fairly won candidate to represent BC citizens. After this referendum, MMP representation should be our new PR voting system because Proportional Representation is a better system to use to represent citizens on behalf of their vote.
Made by Sabrina C (Block 3)
Personally, I think that first-past-the-post is not a good way of voting in our elections. First-past-the-post is when the number of seats a party receives equals the number of districts its candidates win. This system usually has candidates elected from major parties and commonly results in single-party majority governments. First-past-the-post has a clear disadvantage of putting most of the power into one place. This has the tendency to drown out the other parties and nobody except the winning party gets what they want in the end. I think we should change to proportional representation. Proportional representation is when the percentage of votes a party has determines the percentage of seats that they win. For example, if a party gets 24% of the votes, then they win 24% of the seats. I think we should use the mixed-member proportional system where voters vote for both a local representative and the party that they want to win the most seats. This allows people to not only concern themselves with a certain candidate or what party they are part of, and instead choose them separately.
I think it is important for multiple parties to have power in government as it more evenly balances which decisions are made. It is always important to listen to all sides in an argument or a debate and this would make that easier as one majority party wouldn’t be able to simply ignore the other parties ideas or decisions. For these reasons I support proportional representation.
By Ewan Reilly, Block 3.
In BC elections, the government should implement a new proportional representation system as our new election voting system. A proportional representation system will allow voters to vote for the political party not the candidate and will also allow more diversity of party and independent voices in our provincial government. Our current first-past-the-post has lead to only one majority government in BC that was supported by over 50% of voters. This means that a party can have less than a majority of the votes but more seats which allows them to have full control over our government in BC. Proportional representation can fix this. With this system, the percentage of votes a party gets equals the number seats that they hold. 30% of votes equals 30% of the seats in government. The first-past-the-post system also throws away a majority of the votes casted because in this system, the percentage of votes does not matter as much as the percentage of seats a party has. A recent study done by fairvote.ca shows that places with the proportional representation voting system allows over 95% of the votes to elect their next leader of government. In BC under the first-past-the-post system, only 51% of votes helped elect a leader. While the change makes sense for BC voters, the politicians will never allow proportional representation to happen as it takes the power away from the big parties and puts it into the hands of all voters which is really how a democracy is supposed to work.
The sub-system of proportional representation we should use in BC is dual-member proportional. This system stays as close to the values of the umbrella system of proportional representation which means that the number votes equals the number of seats in the house. This system is also very easy to understand which means all voters can know how their vote will affect the election. The only change between the umbrella system of proportional representation and this system is that if a party gets 30% of the votes but only 20% of the riding wins, the secondary candidates can fill the owed 10 seats since in this system a party is allowed to have a primary candidate and a secondary candidate running in each riding. It is also a fair system because if a party has 50% of the votes but only 40 riding wins, their secondary candidates can fill those ten owed seats. It is fair to the party and to the voters in the sense that all the votes made by the people of BC will determine the leading party.
Made by Kishan Randerwala ( Block 2 )
Sources:
– “BC’s options for electoral reform explained” youtube video by Thetyee
– fairvote.ca
Ms Mihic
Per2 Milan P
Referendum B.C.
The upcoming referendum vote for B.C is an excellent opportunity to have voters get better representation on a provincial level. Currently, our election process goes by First Past the Post. The exact definition for that is denoting an electoral system in which a candidate or party is selected by achievement of a simple majority. In my opinion, British Columbia should adopt the voting process of Mixed Member Proportional Representation. Why? Because voters would elect two types of MLAs; one local MLA (As we do currently) And a team of regional MLAs to make up the overall results proportional in each region. About 60% of MLAs would be local and 40% would be regional. This ensures voters will have more than one MLA representing them and will retain local representation. Also, the ballot system is simple. Out of all three options of Proportional Representation, MMP has a great track record as it has been used in some of the world’s well governed countries, such as Germany, Scotland and New Zealand to name a few. These are some of the best reasons to adopt MMP Proportional Representation as our new voting system. Voters will have access to more than one MLA to voice their concerns with.
I hope more B.C residents speak up on this debate and pick what is best for the direction of our amazing province.
I believe the voting system of First Past The Post should remain the voting system of Canada. This is because it is simple to understand, therefore there is no confusion on how the votes are counted and evaluated. It is fairly quick to count the votes and know who has won, the results can be announced quickly once polls are closed. This system of voting also allows the voters to clearly show which party should form the next government. FPTP discourages extremist points of view which is great because it keeps things balanced instead of it being all over the place.
First Past The Post creates a connection between citizens and a particular representative. This is because individual MP’s are elected by their party to run and represent that party specifically. It is very effective, usually with a brutal decisiveness. Whoever gets the most votes wins. However, with Preferential Ballot, the candidate in last place can end up winning and the candidate at the top can end up losing the election. This system can be quite confusing for citizens and it may even lead them to not voting at all. Hoping to be a second choice in order for a win is not democratic and waters down the idea of clear cut debates which is a huge downside to this kind of voting system. We must strengthen our democracy, but ditching First Past The Post will only weaken it.
Made by Karni K. (Block 2)
In theory, Proportional Representation is a better voting system, however in reality it is flawed and First Past The Post (FPTP) is the superior system. The main reason that FPTP is a better system is because it is more likely to result in a majority government. The FPTP system tends to favour larger parties with broad platforms because they need to appeal to a large portion of voters in order to gain seats. However, the Proportional Representation system allows for smaller and single issue parties to gain enough of the popular vote to qualify them for leftover seats in the legislature. These smaller parties can use controversial issues to their advantage because people feel strongly about these issues and will vote for the party despite them not having a comprehensive platform. For example, in Australia, there are upwards of twenty parties, most of which have very narrow platforms.
Under the FPTP system British Columbia has only had one minority government since 1952. Currently BC has mature parties with broad platforms, so a minority government is not too harmful since there is a fair amount of overlap in the parties’ ideologies. However, in Proportional Representation smaller parties will begin to gain seats. It will become more likely that a minority government will form and bigger parties will have to be willing to accommodate the key issues of the smaller parties in order to gain their support. Therefore the smaller parties have more power than they should. This can lead to extreme and unstable government as well as compromises and conflicting ideologies. If the FPTP is kept, we will keep our broad platform parties and single issue parties will be unlikely to sway the balance of power.
In my opinion, British Columbia should adopt Proportional Representation as our voting system for provincial elections. Currently, our province uses First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) as our electoral system, but I believe that this method does not correctly represent the majority of the voters’ choices. One of the several problems with the way that FPTP is designed, is that it excludes minorities and women from being equally represented. This is due to the fact that, parties choose to select candidates that will appeal to the majority of voters in that riding. In addition to this, FPTP doesn’t provide independent parties with a fair chance of winning seats or even getting elected. With Proportional Representation, all parties and voters get a chance to be heard and have their views represented in some way.
Within Proportional Representation, I think the most beneficial sub system would be Dual Member Proportional (DMP). This sub system achieves the change voters want for our voting system, while also being a simple system for voters to understand and use, as the ballot won’t change drastically. Voting should not be overly complicated, because if voters do not understand the system or process, this may lead to them miscasting their vote or not exercising their right to vote at all. DMP was developed in Canada, for Canadians as an alternative to FPTP. This means the creators of this system tailored it to reflect Canada’s voting values and its history. As a part of Proportional Representation, DMP still reduces the idea of a wasted vote and may encourage increased voter turnout, as people will feel that their voice counts and will be heard.
Ellianna Y
Block 3
Per 2 Jacqueline K
We should keep our current electoral system, first-past-the-post and here’s why. First of all, it is very simple and easy for everyone to understand. Secondly, we have had FPTP for a long time and it has been working so there is no reason to change a perfectly effective system. Also, in some types of Proportional Representation you will only know the party in which you are voting for, and may not know who the candidate is. Finally, with Proportional Representation there is a much higher chance that you will end up with a coalition formed resulting in a minority government which is ineffective for running our province.
Personally, I find Proportional Representation very confusing and hard to understand. I have watched numerous videos and read countless articles about what it is and what all of the different types of PR mean, and I am still unsure of quite a few things. With First-Past-the-Post, it is easy to understand and the ballots look quite simple. All you have to do is, select the candidate whom you want to represent you and the candidate with the most votes in your riding will win. The ballots for the different types of Proportional Representation are much more confusing which may lead to voters filling them out incorrectly. In BC we should be trying to find a way to make it easier for people to vote and understand who or what they are voting for, not making it overly complex. PR will just confuse many voters which will lead to many more citizens not contributing in the future elections. We need to keep it simple with First-Past-the-Post.
Period 2, Allysen Y.
2018 Referendum Argument
With the 2018 Referendum coming up soon, and as I will be a future voter in only a few years, I believe we should keep our current system of voting, which is first-past-the-post (FPTP), instead of switching over with proportional representation (PPR). FPTP is quicker, simpler and has a lesser chance in forming a minority government. Minority governments would slow down the process of law making and coalitions which may corrupt our government or dilute the ideals and goals of the parties. With a minority government, the process to make decisions and laws will likely be slower than a majority government and promises may not be fulfilled because our representatives are debating on certain matters that could be quickly decided in a majority government. FPTP has a more likeness in creating a majority government which will make faster and simpler results; achieving goals, promises and ambitions.
With FPTP, a large portion or majority of the population will likely be pleased with the results and decisions whereas proportional representation could please a variety of people but possibly let incompetent or dangerous politicians into government. There is also the possibility of electing someone that could have been the second or third choice of the population in PPR which would leave that representative to be a grey zone of “they were okay, but not great”.
I also think that with the different types of proportional representation that will be offered for the referendum this year, many people would be overwhelmed or confused. First-past-the-post is a simpler and straightforward concept and doesn’t require much thought compared to proportional representation where voters have to choose multiple representatives.
The voting system we should use is the Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP). The reason why we should use this kind of voting system is so that the voters of Canada could have more variety to the candidates and have more choice. Also, in my opinion is fairer because they must reach a certain quota to get a seat in the Legislative Assembly. If a candidate goes higher than the specified quota it will guarantee a seat, then all the extra votes will be distributed to other participating candidates.
I believe that we should adopt this election system for the provincial elections as well, because it sorts of gives other candidates a chance to win a seat in the Legislative Assembly. The way RUP works is a mix between Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) and Single Transferable Vote (STV). The way RUP works is that there are Regional MLAs and District MLAs, and each voter is required to at least rank 1 candidate out of 7. It will continue until all the votes in the legislative assembly are all taken, and it will elect the candidate with the most votes in the assembly. Counting wise, I believe it’s really organized and should be used more often because of the way it uses several rounds to count and use the voter’s other choices to choose the next elected candidate.
Made by Samuel. D (Block 3)
I firmly believe that British Columbia should utilize Proportional Representation, specifically Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) rather than First-Past-the-Post (FPTP), our current democratic system used for our provincial elections.
Proportional representation is a fairer electoral system that puts people’s opinions and intentions first, letting each and every person have a say on who will hold power in the legislature. Meanwhile, the FPTP system is considered controversial due to the fact that neither they nor the party need to have a majority vote, just enough to beat the other candidates running against them meaning that it is possible that majority of peoples votes do not count!
Why we should implement the Mixed Member Proportional system to British Columbia is because of the beneficial advantages and characteristics that this system holds. This system combines the positive aspects of both proportional and First-Past-the-Post which will introduce the changing democratic system so that eligible voters will be able to adapt to the introduction of a new system. The MMP system ensures that one party will not overpower all of the other parties in the legislature meaning that there will be more diversity in opinions and such. For example, if a party gets 40% of the province vote, it will then get approximately 40% of all the seats in the legislature, and for a party that gets 15% of the vote but no district seats, it will still get approximately 15% of the seats in the legislature because it is over the 5% threshold. Not only that, voters will now be able to vote for the party and local representative of their choice!
Stacey N. (Block 2)
Block 3 – Social Studies 10
As a teen who won’t be able to legally vote until January 2019, it is always incredibly disheartening for me to watch the debates leading up to elections and referendums. The aggravation and impatience occurring because I am unable to advocate for the ideal world that I want to be able to happily and healthily inherit. This feeling has most recently sprung up for me regarding the referendum taking place later this year on the topic of proportional representation. I encourage everyone reading this to deeply consider my following words, and use your ability to vote to make a positive change in a problematic system.
Leading up to November 30th, I will most certainly be dedicating time to encouraging the adults around me to vote in favour of proportional representation, and more specifically, mixed member proportional representation. This is because along with every single election I’ve lived through to this date, I’ve experienced the complaining, defeat, and frustration from the voters around me due the simple saying “In BC, elections are always lost, and never won.”. This means that voters are tired of having to vote for candidates and parties that they may not necessarily actually WANT to vote for, because of the worry that voting for a smaller party or independent candidate will split the vote, resulting in a win for an unfavourable candidate. Not only that, but if they vote for a candidate that doesn’t win a seat, their vote won’t count towards the result of the election. So over and over, British Columbian voters are left unsatisfied, and with the feeling that their opinions and wishes aren’t really being heard. Furthermore, the general public is being forced out of important decision making because of this, despite all efforts to be politically active through voting. In this way I believe First Past the Post voting is partially to blame for discouraging citizens to vote, because of the helpless feeling many of my adult friends have come to associate with trying to vote for the candidates they want, but then being forced to vote a different way simply to defeat someone else.
Proportional representation has the potential to almost entirely fix this issue, because this system would allow every single vote the ability to affect which, and how many, leaders are elected to our government.
As a teen who is unable to vote for herself, I’m begging all the adults who read this to PLEASE VOTE for a system that will give each and every ballot the representation we ask for. Who wants to live in a democracy where your voice isn’t actually heard?
Per2, Quan L.
I believe British Columbia should keep the system of First Past The Post (FPTP) for the BC electoral referendum. Why? I chose this because first of all, Dual Member Proportional and Rural-Urban Proportional has never been used before, anywhere. Also, just because Proportional Representation (PR) is used in many other countries, does not mean they are the same. In fact, the majority of PR governments use party list, which is not being proposed as a choice for British Columbia. Even if BC does reform to PR, I believe the citizens of BC would vote on Mixed Member Proportional, as it is the more known type of system when compared to the other 2 Proportional systems. If that happens, BC would be acting as a political experiment because currently only 4 countries and 2 regions in the UK use Mixed Member Proportional. Currently, in BC, spending and deficits are already on the rise, and PR just adds to that because it’s averaged a 5.7% more government spending than the traditional FPTP system. This probably will mean more taxation on things like property tax, sales tax, etc.
Adding onto why BC should keep FPTP is that why should the citizens elect to reform an electoral system in a way that makes the government slower at decision making? BC citizens shouldn’t, and it is due to having more equal power being closer to a consensus system of power and coalition governments. First Past The Post is simple, stable, and successful. When it comes to comparing British Columbia and Canada, BC is often near the top in terms of education, housing, and where people want to live in Canada. So if the system is working this well, why do we need to change it?
The FPTP(First-Past-The-Post) system has been used far too long in BC, it has served well but there is a better option that allows a wider range of parties to gain more seats whereas FTPT makes it so that the party with the most votes will be able to gain more than half the seats even if they win by a single vote which is inaccurate and unfair.
In place of the FPTP system it would be beneficial for us to adopt the RUP(Rural-Urban Proportional)system, RUP is a mix of MMP(Mixed Member Proportional) and STV(Single Transferable Vote). Unlike FPTP, RUP allows for all of the parties with the highest amount of votes to get elected. We are able to do this by setting a certain amount of votes that any party needs to reach in order to get elected, this is called a quota. When a party gains more votes than needed to reach the quota its remaining votes are split and distributed equally among the other parties. When there is no more votes to be split the party which has the lowest votes splits all of its votes among the other parties and it gets eliminated, voting goes on like this until all of the seats are filled. This is a good voting system because it allows the parties with the most votes to get a roughly equal share of seats.
British Columbia should adopt the Proportional Representation (PR) system because by using a PR system, it would make every vote equal, everyone’s vote would count. First-Past-The-Post (FPTP), our current system works by voters choosing their top candidate and the candidate with the most votes has then won the seat. FPTP is a winner takes all system, even if it means over 50% of the population is unhappy with the results, that is what it will be. One or two votes could make the difference between winning and losing. Also, countries using FPTP tend to have a lower voter participation than others, due to a large majority of the votes playing no part in determining the winner, making them “wasted votes”. Although it is true that PR systems tend to form minority governments, making parties compromise and join coalitions with each other, FPTP tends to not fully represent the whole population due to the way seats are allocated and because it encourages tactical voting. In PR, the percentage of votes that a party receives is directly related to the number of seats that they would receive, reducing “wasted votes” and making it proportional. This would ensure that our legislature accurately reflects the voting strength of the parties and that no significant groups are left out without representation. Many governments in the world use PR successfully, some of them being Australia, New Zealand, U.K, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. But, there are many subsets of PR, the 3 recommended ones in B.C. being Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP), Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP) and Dual Member Proportional (DMP).
A DMP system would result in a more geographically balanced representation when compared to other PR systems. DMP works like this, voters vote on their ballots for the party that they have decided to support. On the side of the party’s name, there will be up to two candidates listed. The first candidate of the party with the most votes in the district wins the first seat. The second seat is won by a party based on its share of the popular vote province-wide and their performance in each district. Independent candidates win a seat if they place first or second in the district, and a party must get at least 5 percent of the vote province-wide to get any second seats, to prevent small fringe parties from influencing government. DMP prevents major parties from having “safe seats”, where candidates are basically guaranteed to be elected. Also, DMP avoids a large problem called tactical voting that is associated with FPTP, MMP and RUP. Tactical voting is when voters vote for a certain candidate not because that is his/her sincere preference, but because they would rather that candidate win instead of the main competitor, skewing the results and resulting in a government that doesn’t really represent the voters well. DMP is a new voting system that was just invented in 2013, designed specifically to replace FPTP in Canadian national and provincial elections, but as it is so new, it hasn’t been implemented anywhere yet. It keeps some features of FPTP but prevents tactical voting while also making sure that the seats are proportional to the votes. It’s time for a change and what’s not to love about DMP?
Allyson Wong | Block 3
In my opinion, British Columbia should keep the first-past-the-post voting system in its provincial elections for a variety of reasons. For numerous years, British Columbians have voted with first-past-the-post, keeping a stable, successful government. Citizens can cast a vote for the candidate of their choice, instead of voting for just a party, which is what the proportional representation suggests. Connections between the elected representative and their constituency would be lost with the new system. The candidate we vote for are people we either know a lot of information about or someone we trust to represent the citizens in the riding well, rather than voting for a party that can easily switch up their word. Each of the representatives have the goal of fixing the concerns of ours, being able to understand our positions. If broad situations and power are what the political parties deal with, how will any of our individual ideas be put into consideration?
While some may have negative opinions on it, I believe that we should not touch this effective way of voting. If we make the switch to proportional representation, all of British Columbia will have to learn the new confusing ways, which could potentially cause an error in the votes or push away eligible voters from attending any of the future elections. Being very simple, first-past-the-post is easily understood by British Columbians, since you are not required to pick from a large list of candidates. Proportional representation also opens up the election to extremist parties, and gives them the chance to be elected. The current system is able to fight that; since our MLAs gain their spot by earning the highest amount of votes in their riding, the chance that someone from a minority group will win, like someone from an extremist party, isn’t very great. Lastly, a clashing of ideas and more disagreements due to the fact that there would be more political parties in government could be a potential factor of proportional representation. If this were to happen, how successful could our provincial government really be? With the provincial government having power over anything to do with hospitals, education, and transportation, one could potentially see the citizens losing what they want amid all the conflict between parties. Since each party has their own agenda, it’s hard to think that many of them would compromise what they want to see happen. Overall, the idea of switching to proportional representation for the voting in British Columbia could ruin a system that already works for the people here, and cause major distrust between political parties, and between the government and the people.
~Jessica S. Block 2
2018 Referendum – Should Canada
Change Their System?
The current system Canada is using is ‘first past the post’ (FPTP) I have not found the exact date that we started using this system but I have been informed that it has been a very very long time. Now if we have been using this system for so long that we cannot remember how long it has been, does that not say something to you. It has been working so well for such a long time why change it now and ruin our system. If the referendum changes there will be so much chaos and most people will be very disappointed.
I am aware that when using the FPTP system there are some disadvantages, but there are so many advantages that you need to be aware of. For example (FPTP) is the fastest way to tally all of the votes and get the results to the people. So many people always complain that they want the results right away and there you go. You really cannot complain with our referendum. Not just is the tallying faster but the actual vote is much faster too. It is a traditional way of voting. Better than proportional because then you don’t get all of these crazy parties coming in. (FPTP) is very easy and understandable, when changing it people will not want to vote because all of these other ways of voting is confusing and downright inadequate to the decision of forming a government.
In conclusion all of you need to keep voting for FIRST PAST THE POST do not change your vote because this is the best way to be voting.
Giuliana di spirito
block 2
Per2 Safin V.
In BC elections our type of voting system should be proportional representation, however currently our voting system is first-past-the-post. The first-past-the-post is a voting system which the citizens of a society vote for a candidate for each riding. And the party with the most number of votes, wins. Whereas, proportional representation is a voting system in which you vote for the party, not the candidate. The proportional representation voting system would eliminate bias intentions in our political system. This would drive us to vote for whichever party meets our needs, rather than voting for a political leader based on popularity. The parties running today are the Liberals, Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois, NDP, and Green Party. For example, the Green Party has a female candidate, Elizabeth May, unlike the other four parties. Many people judge the Green Party by who the leader is, rather than their platform. This puts the Green Party in a disadvantage as most people will not vote for a female.
Out of all the three subsystems, mixed member proportional, single transferable vote, and rural-urban; you should believe the best system in place would be single transferable vote. This subsystem allows each vote to be taken into consideration and gives us the option to for our second and third runner ups. In this subsystem, the numerous members elected would represent the diversity of how people voted. Overall, the proportional representation system, along with the subsystem, single transportable vote; in conclusion this would be the best voting system in B.C.
The voting system in British Columbia could be changing. A referendum on electoral reform will take place by mail-in ballots that will be sent to all eligible voters. Voters will choose to either keep the First Past the post system that is implemented right now; or to change our system to Proportional representation. British Columbia should change our system to proportional representation, this would mean that the number of seats in the Legislature is very similar to the number of votes earned. Not only does this further benefit and supports smaller parties, like the green party, but it would also create more perspectives and opinions, expanding various ideas.
Proportional representation reflects a more clear image of what British Columbians want. Specifically Mixed member representation. Using this sub-system would insure all regional seats are allocated to their areas’ needs and all the seats will be proportional to the number of votes their party gained. This would insure a more balanced government; representatives would be strongly supported by their riding because the candidate with the most votes in the district wins the district seat. Then, the party in Legislature would be determined not by how many candidates win their ridings; (like in FPTP) but the division of seats will be determined by a separate vote solely for the parties. Unlike FPTP proportional representation, specifically mixed member representation, will encourage more voters to exercise their right to vote. Because proportional representation counts every vote, meaning that more people will be motivated to give their opinion.
British Columbia needs to start using proportional representation (PR) as its new system of voting when it comes to provincial elections. Proportional representation is when a party’s share of seats in the Legislature closely matches the party’s portion of province-wide votes. It has been proven to be one of the most successful systems in the world, as 9/10 of the world’s top economies use it. When we use this system of voting nobody’s vote will be thrown away, leading to equal representation in Parliament and everyone will have an MLA they helped to elect. Changing our voting system to proportional representation lets opponents work together to create a stronger government. With this new form of voting, more stable policies will be allowed as well.
The subsystem of voting we should use is RUP (Rural-Urban Proportional). RUP uses two types of proportional voting systems: STV (single-transferable vote) and MMP (mixed member proportional). Urban ridings would elect up to 7 candidates using STV. Voters would rank as many candidates as they wish. Results would be based on how they rank. This system is effective towards voting because number of seats candidates have in the legislature would be more accurate when reflecting on every voter’s choice. Rural areas would use MMP – in this system, there will be two types of MLAs: district and regional. Each region, larger than the divisions we currently sustain, has one MLA that represents electoral districts. Each electoral district is represented by a district MLA. The total number of seats the party wins roughly matches their share of province-wide votes as well, making sure that there is equal representation in the Legislature.
– Faith M., block 2
Per3 Anna L.
Canada is currently having a political debate concerning electoral reform. Whether we keep the first-past-the-post system or move on to something else, we must ensure it is right for our country. The first-past-the-post-system has worked in our nation for many years and makes sure that the person most voted for receives the position. After which, they win a seat in the House of Commons and represent the riding they have won in. Their campaigning and advertising work as an example to future people who want to run for provincial elections. This “majority rules” system should stay in use as it ensures for a democratic society that can run smoothly and efficiently.
The first past the post system allows for a clear and concise choice between two parties. While yes it can cause for only 2 main choices (left or right on the political scale) it makes the decision on voters much easier. Using this method avoids the problems of minority governments which often lead to coalitions. Coalitions occur when parties do not have enough votes to pass bills and make them into laws. When this doesn’t occur non-confidence does and another election is called. Finally, it prevents extremist parties from being represented in the legislature. It is probable that, unless”geographically concentrated”, an extremist party is unlikely to receive many votes using FPTP. Through this we can see why it is important to keep the first-past-the post-system and how it works well for our country.
The current BC’s voting system First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) representation should be replaced with Proportional Representation, specifically Mixed Member Proportional. Currently, the FPTP system does not satisfy multiple parties on the ballot. The electoral system that we use today is just reflecting “winner takes all” and “majority wins”. Using PR would allow parties to gain seats based on the number of votes, for example if a party receive 30% of the votes they would have the right to 30% of the seats in the Legislature. Proportional Representation allows different voices to be heard and provides a system of honest representation. Based on the fact that your vote really counts and will contribute to a change and the fact what voters choose to do has a say over the governmental structure, more citizens will become more interested and engaged in governmental issues and will try to create change. In choosing Proportional Representation, it will strengthen local representation.
Mixed member proportional simply means the voter votes for both their local representative and the party that they want to win the most seats. Thus meaning, voters will have a say on who legislates in the parliament. The legislature will be built fairly and all ideas will be compromised. By having the voting system based on the citizens thoughts and opinions, everything will be fair since it will represent the true numbers, not just “majority wins”. Additionally, the smaller parties will have possibly have more representation, they will also be included and this is more fair. In conclusion, mixed member proportional (PR) should be the new BC voting system because almost every vote will have some intake of the build of the legislature and a single party will no longer hold power with just 39% of the entire votes. It is system that’ll fairly represent the voters opinions and with the amount of cooperation, there will be better decision making that will benefit us, especially in the future.
Block 3 Minju J
Per3 Anissa VS.
Shifting to using the proportional representation voting system would be refreshing, and a nice change. To be more specific, we should switch to the Dual Member Proportional Representation.
As implied in its name, the proportional representation system could provide a more diverse representation, and more open minded government. Because this system is more likely to have more parties in the legislature, it could provide a different perspective as opposed to just having one MLA represent each district. The current past the post system could be pretty unfair in the sense that the winner would get nearly all the seats while almost half of the province could have voted differently. Those people would get hardly any representation.
While the representing MP’s job is to represent everyone in the area, they are most likely to be a bit biased. Dual Member Proportional however would provide more perspectives, and make sure everyone is heard, without overcrowding each riding since the size will also double. That way, unlike in the First Past the Post system, each riding will have two different viewpoints so as to ensure the local representation.
FPTP, which is known as First Past the Post are currently used in Canada. There are several district, and each district can only represent single candidate. The people of BC are allowed to vote only once, they cannot see each other, since it’s a secret vote. The most vote wins the election. Some people are willing to vote as proportional representation, and this is how it works: everybody gets to vote equally, however, the side that got most vote wins. Between these two, I prefer FPTP because, there will be no fighting going on between people, since nobody will know who they vote it for. On the other hand, if the government chooses proportional representation, there will be some fight going on, since everyone can know what other people voted for.
FPTP, which is known as First Past the Post are currently used in Canada. There are several district, and each district can only represent single candidate. The people of BC are allowed to vote only once, they cannot see each other, since it’s a secret vote. The most vote wins the election. Some people are willing to vote as proportional representation, and this is how it works: everybody gets to vote equally, however, the side that got most vote wins. Between these two, I prefer FPTP because, there will be no fighting going on between people, since nobody will know who they vote it for. On the other hand, if the government chooses proportional representation, there will be some fight going on, since everyone can know what other people voted for.
Seon Yi-Block 3
In my opinion, the voting system in BC should be changed from First Past the Post (FPTP) to Proportional Representation (PR), particularly the Mixed Member Proportional system (MMP). BC’s current voting system, FPTP, is a system in which one Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) represents a constituency or riding. The voters in each constituency vote for one candidate and the candidate with the most votes will represent their riding in legislature. The number of seats a party has in legislature directly corresponds to the number of candidates who won in their riding. However, it does not correspond to the number of votes the party received province wide. All a candidate needs is one more vote than their opposition to win in their specified riding. So, a party could end up with the majority of the seats in legislature, without having the majority of votes throughout the province. This is an issue because many of the votes will not be taken into account for the overall result. If BC were to adopt the PR system, this would not be a problem because every vote counts.
The system within Proportional Representation that I believe BC should use is the Mixed Member Proportional system, which is essentially a combination of our current system, FPTP, and PR. In this system, voters cast a vote for both a party and a candidate in their electoral district. The district candidates are elected through FPTP and the remainder of the seats that the party earns is filled by regional candidates. They are elected from a prepared list of candidates made by the party. This way, the percentage of votes the party received province wide is closely reflected in the percentage of seats the party gets in the legislature. In this system, every vote counts and it is a fair representation of what the people of BC want. This system may also encourage people to exercise their right to vote if they do not do so already because they will know that their vote will not be wasted and that their voice will be heard.
-Ilyssa L. (Block 3)
Proportional representation YAY or NAY opinion piece:
British Columbia should change our voting system to a proportional representation system. Currently countries that utilize FPTP have a lower voter turnout and have the problem of wasted votes. In 2011 both Canada and New Zealand had national elections. Using a proportional voting system, 97% of New Zealand voters elected an MP. Using First Past the Post, just 51% of Canadians were able to elect an MP. The core principle of Proportional Representation is to treat voters equally. If 40% of a the voters cast votes for a party, 40% of the seats would go to that party. Election results would be proportional. Since World War I, Canada has had 16 “majority” governments. In each case the elected party holds 100% of the power. But, just four of these actually won a majority of the popular vote! In 1997, the Liberals formed a majority government with just 38 percent of the popular vote, and in 2011, the Conservatives did the same, with 39.6%. These parties are not actually winning over 50% of the population!
The utilized sub-system should be the Rural Urban Proportional System.The system combines two different proportional representation systems, Single Transferable Vote (STV) and Mixed Member Proportional (MMP). Urban or Semi Urban areas would use STV while rural areas utilize MMP. Urban areas voters use a ranked ballot, and can choose as many or as few candidates as they like, and will often have a choice among candidates of the same party. The result is a team of local MLAs who reflect the diversity of how the people voted. The number of MLAs elected in each district would vary depending on population density and riding size would increase accordingly. MMP is uses the FPTP system to elect electoral MLAs and Regional MLAs represent groups of electoral districts. This works well to represent the rural districts of a province as well as appease the supporters of the current system. This is comparatively more proportional that the current FPTP system where in the 2011 elections 627,962 voters elected only five Conservative MPs in Quebec, and just 256,167 of their fellow Conservatives voters in Saskatchewan elected 13 MPs. This demonstrates how the current system is not proportional to the number of voters in Canada. The Rural Urban system would recognize the diversity of each province while decreasing the number of electoral districts.
In 2011 Canada was ranked #131 in voter turnout, just slightly ahead of Uganda and behind Estonia. Voters aren’t going out to vote because they feel that their vote won’t matter, that their vote may end up invalid because of our current FPTP system. Proportional representation and the sub-system Rural Urban Proportional would greatly increase the voter turnout and change voter apathy into voter happy.
Period 3 | Samantha Ma
Sources:
“2018 Referendum.” Elections BC, elections.bc.ca/referendum/voting-systems/dual-member-proportional-dmp/.
Seal, Andrew. “The PR Options: Rural-Urban Proportional Recognizes Province’s Diversity.” The Tyee, The Tyee, 12 Oct. 2018, thetyee.ca/Analysis/2018/10/12/PR-Options-Rural-Urban/.
This Is Democracy! Why Canada Needs a Proportional Representation System .
British Columbia is in great need for an electoral reform to its provincial election. Its current system, the first-past the post system is wildly outdated and inadequate at the provincial level. This voting system elects the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes within a district, resulting in the elimination of the second place finisher without consideration to the closeness of the vote. Occasionally, the party receiving the greatest number of votes will still lose, which is the result of their second votes being left uncounted. More importantly, this leaves thousands of residents unrepresented at the Legislative Assembly, contradicting the ideals of a democracy in which all people have a voice. The first-past the post election method tends to result in single party majority governments, leaving less room for debate and contemplation within the assembly. This can be potentially dangerous
At the provincial level it is imperative that all its residents have a voice. Proportional representation ensure this, as a party’s share of seats is proportional to their percentage of votes. This ensures that parties receive the true number of seats they deserve in correlation to the vote. Also, this enables multiple parties to possess power within the assembly, allowing extensive discussion and debates. Voters can take sides with their preferred parties, as opposed to confining to one majority party. The mixed member proportional system is superior, as it is an improved modification to the first-past the post. Candidates receiving the greatest number of votes within a district are automatically elected, and regional seats are added to “top off” the seats in order to give parties their fair share of seats. In fact, this system is already being used in nations including Germany, and New Zealand, and Scotland. If the mixed member proportional system is successful in highly populous nations, there is no reason why it cannot be used just as well in B.C.
British Columbia is in great need for an electoral reform to its provincial election. Its current system, the first-past-the-post system is wildly outdated and inadequate at the provincial level. This voting system elects the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes within a district, resulting in the elimination of the second place finisher without consideration to the closeness of the vote. Occasionally, the party receiving the greatest number of votes will still lose, which is the result of their second votes being left uncounted. More importantly, this leaves thousands of residents unrepresented at the Legislative Assembly, contradicting the ideals of a democracy in which all people have a voice. The first-past-the-post election method tends to result in a single party majority governments, leaving less room for debate and contemplation within the assembly. This can be potentially dangerous.
At the provincial level, it is imperative that all its residents have a voice. Proportional representation ensures this, as for this method a party’s share of seats is proportional to their percentage of votes. This ensures that parties receive the true number of seats they deserve in correlation to the vote. Also, this enables multiple parties to possess power within the assembly, allowing extensive discussion and debates. Voters can take sides with their preferred parties, as opposed to confining to one majority party. The mixed member proportional system is superior, as it is an improved modification to the first-past-the-post. Candidates receiving the greatest number of votes within a district are automatically elected, and regional seats are added to “top off” the seats in order to give parties their fair share of seats. In fact, this system is already being used in nations including Germany, and New Zealand, and Scotland. If the mixed member proportional system is successful in highly populous nations, there is no reason why it cannot be used effectively in B.C.
British Columbia currently uses the voting system, First Past The Post (FPTP) but should adopt Proportional Representation as our voting system for provincial elections. BC’s current method of voting does not accurately display the majority of the voters’ choices. The way FPTP is designed is severely flawed. One of the various problems is that minorities and women are never being equally represented. This is the result of parties choosing to select candidates that will appeal to the majority of voters in that riding. In addition to this, First Past The Post does not provide independent parties with a fair chance of winning seats or even getting elected. On the other hand, Proportional Representation, all parties, and voters get a say and have their views advocated. Within Proportional Representation, the most advantageous subsystem would be Dual Member Proportional (DMP). This subsystem would achieve the change voters want to see for our voting system. If voters do not understand the system or process of voting, votes may be casted incorrectly or some may not vote at all. This would potentially lead to inaccurate and unjustified elections. DMP is a simple system for voters to understand and use, as the ballot will not be altered exceedingly. As an alternative to FPTP, Dual Member Proportional was created in Canada and for Canadians. To reflect Canada’s voting principles and its history, DMP creators customized it especially to their desires and to Canadian’s best interest. As a part of Proportional Representation, DMP would still minimize the idea of a wasted vote and may encourage more Canadian’s to vote. Proportional Representation and Dual Member Proportional will make people feel that their vote counts and their voices are heard.
Audrey T
Block 3
Block 2, Janice C
The electoral system in British Columbia needs to change. Our current voting system, known as First Past the Post, is not sufficient in electing candidates or parties that satisfy the needs of all citizens in the province. With this electoral system, candidates and parties are given seats disproportionate to the number of votes they’ve won. This is a problem, as not all citizens of BC are properly represented this way.
The system of voting that I believe British Columbia should be using is Proportional Representation. Proportional Representation ensures that the amount of seats given to a party is equal to the amount of votes won by said party. With this system of voting, smaller parties with a decent amount of votes get a chance at winning seats in the Legislative Assembly. This system allows for a more diverse legislature, one that accurately represents the interests of all British Columbians.
There are several different voting systems that lead to proportional representation. The system I believe to be most optimal is Rural-Urban Proportional. This system of voting ensures that the winning candidate, although not always the majority’s first choice, is always the most supported throughout the entire province. The Rural-Urban Proportional system of voting results in an elected candidate that no one will be completely upset over. Not only that, but this system makes sure that nobody’s votes will go to waste, as the candidates are ranked on the ballot.
Unlike First Past The Post, the Rural-Urban Proportional voting system ensures parity between the percentage of votes and the percentage of seats of each party. This results in a government that is more representative of the entire province, leading to decisions that will benefit all British Columbians.
Block 3, Janice C
The electoral system in British Columbia needs to change. Our current voting system, known as First Past the Post, is not sufficient in electing candidates or parties that satisfy the needs of all citizens in the province. With this electoral system, candidates and parties are given seats disproportionate to the number of votes they’ve won. This is a problem, as not all citizens of BC are properly represented this way.
The system of voting that I believe British Columbia should be using is Proportional Representation. Proportional Representation ensures that the amount of seats given to a party is equal to the amount of votes won by said party. With this system of voting, smaller parties with a decent amount of votes get a chance at winning seats in the Legislative Assembly. This system allows for a more diverse legislature, one that accurately represents the interests of all British Columbians.
There are several different voting systems that lead to proportional representation. The system I believe to be most optimal is Rural-Urban Proportional. This system of voting ensures that the winning candidate, although not always the majority’s first choice, is always the most supported throughout the entire province. The Rural-Urban Proportional system of voting results in an elected candidate that no one will be completely upset over. Not only that, but this system makes sure that nobody’s votes will go to waste, as the candidates are ranked on the ballot.
Unlike First Past The Post, the Rural-Urban Proportional voting system ensures parity between the percentage of votes and the percentage of seats of each party. This results in a government that is more representative of the entire province, leading to decisions that will benefit all British Columbians.
British Columbia should use proportional representation system for voting provincial elections and stop using the first-past-the-post. There are several disadvantages about the first-past-the-post such as minority without majority support, having two sides, and result can be gerrymander. First, the votes are usually spread between candidates and parties. That mean the party which forms a government always lacks of supports from the majority of people. That is how the UK usually gets the result a government the majority don’t want. An example being the Labour Government from 2005-2010 was only had elected 35.2% of the vote but won 55.2% of seats in parliament. Second, many parties and candidates who are in the 3rd or 4th place have no chance to win the election, even though have the modest level of popularity. Over time the voters will votes to more popular parties and it will ends up with two sides, right wing and left wing parties. Suggests that there are only two options for governance, but there may be many unrepresented opinions. USA allows businesses and corporations which support the parties to have disproportionate influence. Last, the result can be gerrymander. Every time the plans are made to create new electoral boundaries it will recur happen. To make sure the population of voting area are the same to ensure that no area has greater influence than others.
The proportional representation system can solve all the problems up above. If the party wins 50% of the votes over 12 districts then they will gets 6 seats from the election results. Unlike the FPTP, PR can heard many different voices, it also reduces the idea of wasting votes.
In my opinion, BC should change their voting system from first-past-the-post to proportional representation. It is not fair that the party that gets the most votes in an election gets an overwhelming majority of seats in government and therefore has a far bigger say in decision making. With proportional representation, all citizens votes will matter, since the party that they vote for has the potential to have seats in government even if they don’t receive the majority of votes. This system will give more of a say to minorities and other groups with not as common of beliefs and opinions as the majority of BC citizens. Having a more diverse group of people in government will help many more BC citizens be happy with the government and the decisions made. This will motivate people to vote more in any future elections because now they know that even if they have a less popular opinion than others that they can still have a say in how their province is run. Some drawbacks of this system include, slowing down decision making and the process of bills being passed. This may be due to there being conflicting opinions on certain subjects. However, I think that the benefits of the (PR) system weigh out the drawbacks and I feel as though everyone can agree that listening to each other’s ideas and sides in an argument will help greatly in finding solutions that most citizens of BC can understand and be happy with.
A. Which system of voting should British Columbia use in its provincial elections and why?
British Columbia should use proportional representation in its provincial elections. Proportional representation has many benefits over the current first past the post system.
1. Representative of the Population
proportional representation is more representative of the population since it allows the legislature to be reflective of the population. If a certain part of the population is concentrated in one part of the province they won’t be able to elect their representative to the B.C. legislature. Proportional representation allows every population demographic to include some of their representatives to the legislature. In 2015 the federal liberals won 55% of the seats in the legislature however they received only 33% of the votes which means a majority of the country didn’t vote for the liberals thus, the first past the post system is not as representative of the population as proportional representation.
2. Parties are Required to Collaborate
Majority governments are rarely formed in proportional representation which means that parties are always required to collaborate and work with MLAs of other parties. This is beneficial since
• No party can pass laws that they feel should be passed without consulting other parties, this makes sure that all decisions made are in favor of the public
• Parties are forced to take the views of all other parties into consideration before making decisions this ensures that every option is considered from different viewpoints. For example, if the NDP decides to make a decision, the greens who are known to be highly pro-environment will take into consideration how that decision will affect the environment.
• Parties will have to make compromises and stay in consensus with other parties.
3. Minority Parties and Independent Candidates
Minority parties and independent candidates have a higher chance of getting elected to the legislature and express their views that may have been suppressed in the past by the major ruling party.
4. Void Votes and Voter Turnout
in the first past the post system most votes go void since a candidate only requires to get more votes than all other candidates this decreases the impact a single vote can make and thus people are less likely to go and vote since they feel like their single vote doesn’t make a difference. Proportional representation allows every single vote to impact the number of seats a certain candidate or party wins thus, more people will be encouraged to vote.
If you choose proportional representation, which (sub) system of voting should we choose and why?
I would choose the Dual Member Proportional Representation since the percentage of votes a party receives exactly equals the percentage of seats that party wins in the legislature. This is the best scenario for the reasons stated above.
(Per3 Hriday Sahni)
Voting Referendum
There are multiple voting systems that Canada has but they aren’t all used. The voting systems include First Past The Post (FPTP) which is Canada’s current voting system, Proportional Representation which has been disputed whether or not it should become Canada’s new voting system, and Proportional representation have been split into 3. The newly added Dual Member Proportional (DMP), Mixed Member Proportional(MMP), Rural Member Proportional(RUP). I believe that we should change to DMP because it is the in between, it takes FPTP and Proportional Representation and combines the two. DMP combines regions that were previously separated in FPTP, this only works with smaller districts; larger districts stay the same. There will be 1 to 2 Candidates on a ballot, if they get the most votes in a region they get the first seats. Second seats on the other hand are handed out to you only if you have 5% or more of the province wide votes. Your percentage of seats in the legislature is dependent on your percent in the provincial wide vote.
We should choose DMP, DMP is the most balanced voting system and best option for Canada’s provinces. There would be more representation in the legislature for the citizens of provinces that may not have as much representation such as Quebec. If citizens were afraid of going to because they may get beat up they no longer will have to worry as everyone gets a fair chance with this voting system as it ensures if you get 5% then you will have seats. Overall DMP helps the population get along and opinions will be formed for the better with a great voting system in place.
Sara G. BLK 6
First Past The Post has been used in Provincial elections in British Columbia since 1991 and as times change new problems and challenges arise. We need to adapt to these changes, by supporting a system that will ensure your vote counts for the changes that you would like to see in your community. It is time to change our voting system to proportional representation because, as of the last provincial election a total of 1,974,712 (57.7%) of eligible voters elected 43 Liberal, 41 NDP, and 3 Green party Candidates, a total of 87 candidates. This election was made with the first-past-the-post system, which is a system where the candidate who receives the most votes in an electoral riding is declared the winner. First-Past-The-Post can cause many problems like tactical voting, where you are essentially voting against the person that has the popular vote in order to keep them from winning. FPTP can also result in what is called a “wrong winner” election, this happened in the 1996 British Columbia provincial election when the liberals got more votes than the NDP, but the NDP got 100% of the power and ruled with a majority. With FPTP, half of the votes that are cast do not count, there is already a staggeringly low amount of voter turnout in elections, and having known half of the votes don’t count it won’t encourage many people to vote.
Furthermore, British Columbia is a large province with many different urban, suburban and rural areas that are important to keep in mind when choosing who you would want representing your riding based on the change you want to see in your specific community, this is why I think that Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP) is the best way to go. Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP) combines two voting systems of Single Transferable Vote (STV) and Mixed Member Proportional (MMP). Urban and semi-Urban districts use STV to elect multiple MLAs for all larger electoral districts, in STV parties can run multiple candidates in one district and voters rank their preferred candidate. In rural districts, MMP is used, where there are two types of MLAs. District MLAs represent electoral districts elected with FPTP and regional MLAs represent groups of electoral districts called regions. Although RUP is not used anywhere as a single system it is important to take note that British Columbia is filled with different communities and environments that have different issues and needs to tend to. Therefore, using RUP would be the best sub-system of proportional representation because in rural areas of B.C you might like having one local MLA with easy access to regional MLAs who can provide a balance of voices and ideas in your region. If in urban areas of B.C, RUP will benefit your community with a group of MLAs who can speak and act on political problems within your community. Candidates can also be chosen from any party in B.C giving your community a wide range of views, and opinions on how to better your community.
In my opinion, BC should change their voting system from first-past-the-post to proportional representation. It is not fair that the party that gets the most votes in an election gets an overwhelming majority of seats in government and therefore has a far bigger say in decision making. With proportional representation, all citizens votes will matter, since the party that they vote for has the potential to have seats in government even if they don’t receive the majority of votes. This system will give more of a say to minorities and other groups with not as common of beliefs and opinions as the majority of BC citizens. Having a more diverse group of people in government will help many more BC citizens be happy with the government and the decisions made. This will motivate people to vote more in any future elections because now they know that even if they have a less popular opinion than others that they can still have a say in how their province is run. Some drawbacks of this system include, slowing down decision making and the process of bills being passed. This may be due to there being conflicting opinions on certain subjects. However, I think that the benefits of the (PR) system weigh out the drawbacks and I feel as though everyone can agree that listening to each other’s ideas and sides in an argument will help greatly in finding solutions that most citizens of BC can understand and be happy with.
Aidan Gardner Block 3
British Columbia should adapt the proportional representation as its new election system, instead of continue using our current voting system, First past the post (FPTP) when it comes to the provincial elections. Proportional representation is defined as the share of seats a political party wins in the Legislative Assembly is similar to the number of votes earned. One of the several problems of FPTP is, representative may get elected with a small proportion of public support, as the number of winning margin is irrelevant, what matters is only whether they win the election or not. FPTP is designed to encourage tactical voting, as voters often does not vote for the candidate that they most prefer, but against the candidate they dislike. In addition to this, FPTP does not support individual party with fair chance of winning seats or getting elected. In comparison, proportional representation will give different parties and voters opinion and perspective to be heard or to be seen.
Under proportional representation, the most beneficial subsystem of voting is dual member proportional. It is an electoral system designed to have two representative in each of the regions districts. This is the system that achieves to be the understandable to voters to understand and use. In fact, if systems got over complicated, then voters may not be able to understand and they may not vote. The dual member proportional system would be greatly promoted since it is well developed in Canada. In addition to this, it achieves the goal to encourage more voters to vote as their opinion and ideas have a higher possibility of being heard and discussed.
By Sabrina L.
Block 6
The British Columbia government is sending its citizens a letter with the question; Should we keep First Past the Post or should we adopt a Proportional Representation Government? And today I am here to answer this question.
First let’s start by explaining what each one is, in First Past the Post the number of seats a party gets in the legislature equals the number of districts its candidates win, this voting method usually leads to smaller districts and single-party majority governments. Some pros to this method of voting include; keeps out extremist third parties, easier to make decisions(doesn’t have to go through all the other parties), easy to understand, and allows voters to choose people not just parties. Some cons to this include; small parties can’t get seats, isn’t proportional to the electorate, if you aren’t in a swing seat you will be taken less seriously, and people who draw the regions can be bribed to bias one party
In Proportional Representation a party’s share of seats in the legislature roughly matches its share of the province-wide popular vote, this voting method tends to lead to coalition or multi-party governments. Some pros to this include; gives independent candidates a much better chance at being elected, would be a higher turnout at the polls because people’s votes are more important, no bizzare election results where parties with fewer seats can still win more seats in the legislature and it encourages a coalition government. Some cons include; makes it easier for extremist groups to get seats, does not provide direct representation to specific groups, it can be an unstable government because everyone might not be able to agree on things and most parties cannot gain 50% of the vote which makes it harder for the government to do things.
I personally believe that First Past the Post is the better voting system because it stops extremist groups from getting seats and it makes it easier for the government to do its job since it doesn’t have to go through all the other parties.
I think British Columbia should stop using the first-past-the-post and start using proportional elections. They should change to proportional elections because it allows different voices to be heard. With more voices heard, there is a better chance that real action could be taken within the government. It also reduces the idea of a wasted vote by not letting the voters see which candidate has the majority of votes. So that way no voter votes for the candidate with minority, instead they vote for who they want to vote for. Another reason to change is because it allows for multiple candidate preferences. It does that by the voters rank the candidates on their ballot based on choice. It would be first, second, third and so on. The winner is declared only once a candidate reaches more than the set share of votes.
chloe kirkpatrick-block 3
Why you should vote “yes” for Mixed Member Proportional Representation in the 2018 electoral reform
Soon, the citizens of BC will be voting on which voting system will be used for provincial elections.
It is in BC’s best interest to vote “yes” to the Proportional Representation (PR) voting system and to vote for Mixed Member Proportional as the (sub)system. In order to progress as a province, BC needs fair representation.
BC should adopt the PR voting system for a number of reasons. PR is when the number of seats a party earns more firmly correlates to the number of votes the party receives in an election. For example, 40% of the votes means 40% of the seats. In First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) however, voters are grouped into ridings and the candidate who receives the most votes in each riding is elected and receives one seat in provincial legislature.
A class presidential election is an example that can be used to easily illustrate these two systems. In a FPTP system, the thirty students in a class would be divided into groups, each group representing a riding. If X was class president last year, X could redefine how the groups are reformed to increase their chance at winning. For instance if the ridings are divided by the alphabet, where each students’ family name determines which riding they belong. X can easily reconfigure the groups so that perhaps the new ridings are A-E as opposed to A-C if it is more beneficial to X. X can have the majority vote for the election because they combined the smaller ridings likely to vote for Y with the larger one likely to vote for X. FPTP allows this heinous manipulation of our electoral constituencies so that singular votes are less effective.
PR more accurately voices the views of society through who gets elected. In PR, each vote makes more of an impact. In the class election example, each of the thirty votes are counted as one. If 14 votes go to X and 16 go to Y, then clearly Y is the winner. With the FPTP system, there would have been the possibility that X could have won. In reality, with the FPTP system, Donald Trump became president even though Hillary Clinton received over 2.8 million more votes.
FPTP can so easily be Gerrymandered to ensure that the final results are in favour of the party in charge. Gerrymandering is when the political party in charge, redraws the boundaries of an electoral constituency to benefit and further themselves. Like in the class election example, with the information on which ridings are likely to vote their way and which ones are not, they can redraw the lines to ensure their re-election.
Using PR, society’s view are more accurately reflected. Gerrymandering is not possible with this system and allows for proper representation. As mentioned before, if a party receives 40% of the votes then they receive 40% of the seats in provincial legislature. This system makes far more sense than FPTP and accurately depicts what our community wants.
PR is used globally and is the most prevalent electoral system used in the democratic countries. Evidence gathered from PR elected governments around the world show that these countries do better and are more successful with the environment and the economy. Moreover, FPTP is the least representative and is one of the most inequitable election systems used because of how easily it can be manipulated. Why BC still uses it is astonishing. It is time for a change. Studies show that countries using FPTP score an average of 6 points lower regarding the sustainability of the environment, resources, forestry and more. BC deserves a fair electoral system, a healthy environment and all the favourable outcomes that come with PR.
Now that it has been established that it is in BC’s best interest to use PR as our new electoral system, there are three kinds of PR to choose from: Dual Member Proportional (DMP), Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) and Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP.) DMP is when electoral districts are combined and are represented by two MLAs. Parties can have one or two candidates to vote for on the ballots. MMP is when there are two kinds of MLAs. The district MLAs represent electoral districts and there are regional MLAs who represent groups of electoral districts. District and regional seats added together roughly match the parties share of the vote. RUP is when parties can run multiple candidates and voters rank all the candidates on the ballot based on preference.
MMP is the best voting system because the number of seats a party receives is based on its share of the popular vote in the province. This results in a more accurate representation than the other two kinds of PR and FPTP. Furthermore, MMP allows all votes to count equally and gives the opportunity for minority parties to gain representation in legislature. Comparatively, MMP is one of the most common types of PR and is arguably the most effective, given it has been successful in multiple countries such as New Zealand, Germany and more. Moreover, MMP is the only (sub)system offered of PR that has been used before and has proven quite successful in many circumstances.
Mixed Member Proportional Representation is the kind of robust change we need in BC. PR is a more democratic voting system that is the superior to FPTP because it is a fairer system that will voice the views of British Columbians accurately and has already been proven more successful than FPTP. All things considered, MMP would be the most effective (sub)system for PR because it has proven most prosperous and would best represent the needs of BC. PR is a critical change that will serve the needs of our community well and will impact the lives of all citizens positively. Vote “yes” to PR for the positive change BC deserves.
Per6, Claire S.
Why you should vote “yes” for Mixed Member Proportional Representation in the 2018 electoral reform
Soon, the citizens of BC will be voting on which voting system will be used for provincial elections.
It is in BC’s best interest to vote “yes” to the Proportional Representation (PR) voting system and to vote for Mixed Member Proportional as the (sub)system. In order to progress as a province, BC needs fair representation.
BC should adopt the PR voting system for a number of reasons. PR is when the number of seats a party earns more firmly correlates to the number of votes the party receives in an election. For example, 40% of the votes means 40% of the seats. In First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) however, voters are grouped into ridings and the candidate who receives the most votes in each riding is elected and receives one seat in provincial legislature.
A class presidential election is an example that can be used to easily illustrate these two systems. In a FPTP system, the thirty students in a class would be divided into groups, each group representing a riding. If X was class president last year, X could redefine how the groups are reformed to increase their chance at winning. For instance if the ridings are divided by the alphabet, where each students’ family name determines which riding they belong. X can easily reconfigure the groups so that perhaps the new ridings are A-E as opposed to A-C if it is more beneficial to X. X can have the majority vote for the election because they combined the smaller ridings likely to vote for Y with the larger one likely to vote for X. FPTP allows this heinous manipulation of our electoral constituencies so that singular votes are less effective.
PR more accurately voices the views of society through who gets elected. In PR, each vote makes more of an impact. In the class election example, each of the thirty votes are counted as one. If 14 votes go to X and 16 go to Y, then clearly Y is the winner. With the FPTP system, there would have been the possibility that X could have won. In reality, with the FPTP system, Donald Trump became president even though Hillary Clinton received over 2.8 million more votes.
FPTP can so easily be Gerrymandered to ensure that the final results are in favour of the party in charge. Gerrymandering is when the political party in charge, redraws the boundaries of an electoral constituency to benefit and further themselves. Like in the class election example, with the information on which ridings are likely to vote their way and which ones are not, they can redraw the lines to ensure their re-election.
Using PR, society’s view are more accurately reflected. Gerrymandering is not possible with this system and allows for proper representation. As mentioned before, if a party receives 40% of the votes then they receive 40% of the seats in provincial legislature. This system makes far more sense than FPTP and accurately depicts what our community wants.
PR is used globally and is the most prevalent electoral system used in the democratic countries. Evidence gathered from PR elected governments around the world show that these countries do better and are more successful with the environment and the economy. Moreover, FPTP is the least representative and is one of the most inequitable election systems used because of how easily it can be manipulated. Why BC still uses it is astonishing. It is time for a change. Studies show that countries using FPTP score an average of 6 points lower regarding the sustainability of the environment, resources, forestry and more. BC deserves a fair electoral system, a healthy environment and all the favourable outcomes that come with PR.
Now that it has been established that it is in BC’s best interest to use PR as our new electoral system, there are three kinds of PR to choose from: Dual Member Proportional (DMP), Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) and Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP.) DMP is when electoral districts are combined and are represented by two MLAs. Parties can have one or two candidates to vote for on the ballots. MMP is when there are two kinds of MLAs. The district MLAs represent electoral districts and there are regional MLAs who represent groups of electoral districts. District and regional seats added together roughly match the parties share of the vote. RUP is when parties can run multiple candidates and voters rank all the candidates on the ballot based on preference.
MMP is the best voting system because the number of seats a party receives is based on its share of the popular vote in the province. This results in a more accurate representation than the other two kinds of PR and FPTP. Furthermore, MMP allows all votes to count equally and gives the opportunity for minority parties to gain representation in legislature. Comparatively, MMP is one of the most common types of PR and is arguably the most effective, given it has been successful in multiple countries such as New Zealand, Germany and more. Moreover, MMP is the only (sub)system offered of PR that has been used before and has proven quite successful in many circumstances.
Mixed Member Proportional Representation is the kind of robust change we need in BC. PR is a more democratic voting system that is the superior to FPTP because it is a fairer system that will voice the views of British Columbians accurately and has already been proven more successful than FPTP. All things considered, MMP would be the most effective (sub)system for PR because it has proven most prosperous and would best represent the needs of BC. PR is a critical change that will serve the needs of our community well and will impact the lives of all citizens positively. Vote “yes” to PR for the positive change BC deserves.
Block 6, Claire S.
Per3 Avery L
Why Mixed-Member proportional representation is superior to First-Past-the-Post
I believe that Proportional Representation is superior to the First-Past-the-Post system that we currently use. If British Colombia switches to Proportional Representation, I believe it will give Canadians more accurate results at the polls.
Of the three types of Proportional Representation models, I like Mixed-Member proportional. I like this because voters will get more choice. People can pick their preferred candidate and their preferred party. In the current First-Past-the-Post system, the candidate and the party are together as one. Under the Mixed-Member proportional, if people like a candidate from the NDP party, but agree with the Liberals’ overall platform, they would have two separate votes for both the candidate and the party. This system allows people to make this choice known.
The other two proportional systems are very confusing to me. Rural-Urban proportional and Dual-Member proportional are too complicated for me. I like Mixed-Member proportional, because I feel like it gives Canadians the choice to choose their preferred party and candidate without getting too complicated. I believe that this system would be more equitable while still being easy enough to understand.
In conclusion, we should change to Proportional Representation, more specifically Mixed-Member proportional. It will give voters in British Colombia the choice to choose their preferred candidate and their preferred party. I believe this system is accurate and fair.
Vanessa C. | Block 6
British Columbia should adopt the proportional representation voting system instead of using its current system, First Past the Post (FPTP). Though there are many different sub-systems of proportional representation, mixed member proportional, also known as MMP, seems to be the best fit. This is because there are many different ways to adjust MMP. In their district, voters are able to vote for either a list of candidates provided by a party, or a single candidate of their choice. This sub-system of MMP also allows for better proportional representation at the provincial compared to other sub-systems of proportional representation, such as dual member proportional (DMP) or rural-urban proportional (RUP). Not only will there be an elected MLA for every district, but there will also be several MLAs representing that region of districts. This allows for representation that wasn’t represented in the district elections to re-appear. MMP has already been proven as a successful way of voting, as countries such as Scotland and New Zealand already use it during their elections.
No matter which sub-system of proportional representation is used, all of them allow for minorities to get proper representation in the Legislature. It is much better than First Past the Post because of this, and it allows the citizens to be properly represented, rather than it be a popularity poll where only the majority has a say in the government’s decisions. Not only does our province need to adapt such a system of voting, but it may even be an effective way for our federal government to be elected.
First Past The Post has been used in Provincial elections in British Columbia since 1991 and as times change new problems and challenges arise. We need to adapt to these changes, by supporting a system that will ensure your vote counts for the changes that you would like to see in your community. It is time to change our voting system to proportional representation because, as of the last provincial election a total of 1,974,712 (57.7%) of eligible voters elected 43 Liberal, 41 NDP, and 3 Green party Candidates, a total of 87 candidates. This election was made with the first-past-the-post system, which is a system where the candidate who receives the most votes in an electoral riding is declared the winner. First-Past-The-Post can cause cause many problems like tactical voting, where you are essentially voting against the person that has the popular vote in order to keep them from winning. FPTP can also result in what is called a “wrong winner” election, this happened in the 1996 British Columbia provincial election, when the liberals got more votes than the NDP, but the NDP got 100% of the power and ruled with a majority. With FPTP, half of the votes that are cast do not count, there is already a staggeringly low amount of voter turnout in elections, and having known half of the votes don’t count it won’t encourage many people to turnout and vote.
Furthermore, British Columbia is a large province with many different urban, sub-urban and rural areas that are important to keep in mind when choosing who you would want representing your riding based on the change you want to see in your specific community, this is why I think that Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP) is the best way to go. Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP) combines two voting systems of Single Transferable Vote (STV) and Mixed Member Proportional (MMP). Urban and semi-Urban districts use STV to elect multiple MLAs for all larger electoral districts, in STV parties can run multiple candidates in one district and voters rank their prefered candidate. In rural districts MMP is used, where there are two types of MLAs. District MLAs represent electoral districts elected with FPTP and regional MLAs represent groups of electoral districts called regions. Although RUP is not used anywhere as a single system it is important to take note that British Columbia is filled with different communities and environments that have different issues and needs to tend to. Therefore, using RUP would be the best sub-system of proportional representation because in rural areas of B.C you might like having one local MLA with easy access to regional MLAs who can provide a balance of voices and ideas in your region. If in urban areas of B.C, RUP will benefit your community with a group of MLAs who can speak and act on political problems within your community. Candidates can also be chosen from any party in B.C giving your community a wide range of views, and opinions on how to better your community.
Block 6.
Duaa Masud.
I think we should change our voting system from First Past The Post (FPTP) to Proportional Voting. Yes proportional voting still has its negatives and FPTP gives voters a better way to vote for a certain candidate that they trust and instead of voting for the party itself. This upcoming vote for change is a great way for us to choose how we want our provincial government to look like, and who represents us.
Of course voting for someone we know about and assume will provide for our needs is what we want but that’s why we should change from FPTP to Mixed-Member Proportional Representation. Even though i have my doubts about MMP since it could go two ways if it’s chosen as the new way of voting for British Columbia, it could result in 2 votes; one for a candidate and one for a party, which is the way i want to be implemented. The other way it could go would be voters cast a vote for a candidate and that vote would also count for the candidates party. MMP would be a successful, effective and a great way of voting because people would still get to choose a candidate they trust and know about, and get to vote for a party they think will represent what they want and be able to fulfill promises.The voting system would have a local MLA like we have now and regional MLA’s, the majority of who we vote for will still be local though so we have a great amount of say in who we vote for. I believe a system that allows our voices to be heard in not only 1 way, but 2 ways which allows us to have greater representation for the voters themselves, and isn’t that what we all want? A government that represents us? Not to mention this system proves its success since it’s used in some of the best governments around the world such as germany, Scotland and New Zealand. Not to mention Germany and New Zealand happen to be in the top 10 worldwide for the best voter turnouts, goes to show people trust this system of voting and actually strive to vote.
Many people will disagree and say that we should stick to FPTP system since its easy to understand and our government has been working great so far, which don’t get me wrong on a federal level it has but there’ll always be good and bad. I think a change like this could be good since it would still include the old system and implement some of the new.. There’s also the speculation of how extremist parties will be allowed into our government if we change but MMP still allows us to choose our candidate of choice, so we’ll be represented by people we want still, and we get to vote for our party too.
I still think a huge change like this in British Columbia could be bad as not a lot of people vote already and a huge change could be confusing for many of our eligible voters and they may just not want to care enough to vote. So i think B.C needs to strive to give more information on voting, accessible information for all, ways to motivate people to get out and vote and show them how the implemented system would benefit them, benefit all cultural, religious, political groups and etc. This type of voting allows us to have a greater say and we are the next generation we have to get to know these sorts of systems better so when it’s our time to vote we take the chance and use our voice to build a successful government around us that represents our needs. This system all together is an equal mix, it’s not a huge change as we still get to vote for our candidate but now the amount of seats won = the amount of votes won. In FPTP say 40% of the votes won were liberals but they won 60% of the seats, in proportional the amount of votes = the amount of seats so its more fair and it represents us better. Since proportional voting does take away the chance to vote for a candidate we want, mixed proportional would be the best choice since we get a fair amount of representation, both the party and the candidate. All in all this is the type of voting i think would be effective and efficient.
British Columbia should use proportional representation in its provincial elections, for it is a more accurate way of truly showing our citizens voting, seats in relation to votes can benefit ourselves in the end goal of bringing in our new leader, and voting for candidates in this way can bring us a more efficient way of elections.
In comparison to ‘First past the post’, proportional representation can give room for errors and mistakes to be made, if majority votes are for a candidate who isn’t fully deemed fit, proportional representation can fix this issue in a more efficient manner than ‘First past the post’.
The (sub)system British Columbia should use for proportional representation should be ‘Rural Urban Proportional’ because it brings together all districts and then requires voters to rank them using however many numbers for their ranking as they like, this may seem a bit more tasking of a job for an election, but with that comes a more accurate result, and unlike ‘first past the post’, can prevent issues of a candidate not being fit for the job, and instead, bring in our new leader without hesitation, someone we would all understand is truly the best of all choices we had, and would have this statement backed up with not only a majority of votes for our new leader, but votes for other candidates representing how well they may work in relation to how the other candidates may have not been as good.
This is a voting system that i believe can represent British Columbian citizens and their votes in a clear form, and does not leave out those who did not vote #1 for the candidate who won. This could also bring in the potential for a question of our votes, and perhaps a re-vote, voting does not always have to be a rush for bringing in a new leader, and if we take the time and use accuracy to evaluate our votes, we can bring in someone who we will all want to stay as one of our leaders.
Voting referendum
Ian T. Block: 6
With the 2018 electoral referendum finally upon us, the big question is, should we keep First Past the Post? The answer is yes. This is due to proportional representation being a horrific method for representation for the people of BC. If the NDP gets their way, and proportional representation does pass, that will mean the end to local MLA’s. This would be horrible for smaller communities, since they rely on their local MLA’s to get their voices heard within the government. Furthermore, another problem that proportional representation would face is its own concept. Due to the seats having to be an odd number to prevent the rare case of two parties having the same amount of seats. It would be impossible to give a party 50% of the seats because that would mean they will end up half a seat example of this is 50% of 87 seats is 43.5 seats. The only way to fix that problem would be to either give them 44 seats or 43 seats but under proportional representation that is not technically 50% of the seats, therefore it is not proper proportional representation.
The NDP should keep First Past the Post because it is a better system of voting than proportional representation. The only reason why the NDP is trying to get rid of FPTP is that of the Green Party. This is because the Green Party would be the true winners if proportional representation passes. Not only would the Green Party be able to obtain more seats under proportional representation. Also with the change, the Green’s would get more seats and would finally get official party status which has been eluding them for so many years. In conclusion, proportional representation is a system that would produce more problems than solutions. That will most likely fail to be adapted for the third time in BC.
I personally don’t think that we should change our way of electing. We should just leave the electoral system alone. I think that the current system is fair and simple and I feel that this new system of proportional representation is not as simple and harder to learn. It also seems that this system tries to make everyone equally tolerate the new government and throws away the majority wins aspects I personally find the old system better and we should keep our government as it is.
In my opinion, the system of voting should be changed from First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) to Proportional Representation. Although First-Past-the-Post system may be good in some situations, it can also ruin the whole election. For example, if two candidate are running in different ridings and earned equal percentage of votes. However, it turned out that only one won, it could lead to an misunderstanding. This is one reason to why we should use an alternative voting system called Proportional Representation. Proportional Representation is a type of voting system in which each party gain seat proportional to the amount of vote they got. To support this idea, more than 90 countries are using Proportional Representation and all have shown to have positive result. This system is believe to be fairest and is best suited for provincial election because we can see the voter’s true intention towards the legislature. Moreover, Proportional representation had shown a collaboration between the people, clearness, and thus encourages the parties to do campaigns beyond their district.
However, despite the system efficiency and independent system, there are flaws in it. Some of which includes, most Proportional Representation tends to leads to a weak government. It thus, allows the extreme parties to gain powers and is very complicated compared to other electoral system such as FPTP. Therefore, I would like to recommend the Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMP) over Proportional Representation. The MMP is an electoral system that combines aspect of the Proportional Representation and the First-Past-the-Post system. With MMP, voters could vote for the local representatives and the Political Party of their own choice. The system gave the voters to a more validated feeling and more freedom to express their rights.Moreover, It also gave small parties an opportunity to gain a seat in the House of Commons. Although, this might be a little confusing for a casual voters, but the system will gives a more accurate representation without a need to sacrifice the local representation. Therefore, I believe the MMP is the best choice for provincial election.
Teerapat I.
Block 6
Kai B
October 23, 2018
Socials Block 7
Voting Referendum
Over the years provincial voter turnout has has been on a steady decline. In the year 1983 BC voter turnout was near 80%, compared to the 2017 Provincial election where only 55% of eligible citizens voted. The reason for the decrease can stem from multiple reasons but an often excuse used is that “my vote won’t matter”. Politicians argue that every vote matters but with the current voting system (first past the post) I question if that statement is really true. First past the post is a system where eligible citizens vote for the candidate who’s running in there riding. Voters select what party they want to form government by voting for the candidate running for that party. The problem with this is that many peoples votes don’t count. For example in North Vancouver John B. is running for the Liberal party and Mark F. is running for the green party. Let’s say Mark F. Gets 5,000 votes for the liberal party and John B. gets 5,500 votes. John B. Would win the riding and earn the Liberals a spot in parliament. The problem with this is that those 5,000 votes for the green party are basically thrown away and not counted. This could contribute to the reason why people don’t vote and why BC needs to reform our voting system. I believe that BC should shift from first past the post to Dual Member proportional.
b) One of the three options for the 2018 voting referendum is DMP (Dual member proportional). This system is a sub system to the traditional proportional representation. The way this is work goes like this, each party will nominate two candidates per riding choosing a primary and secondary option. Voters vote for one option on the ballot the once the election is over the percent of the votes for each party equals the percent of seats at the legislature. Instead of doubling the amount of seats to fit all the MLAs they will divide the riding in half. Overall I believe using this system could benefit the non popular vote and provide smaller groups such as the Green party a better chance for seats. In conclusion the positives of DM proportional representation are; every vote matters, more diversity in legislature and eliminating the need for long party lists.
Today, we use the First-past-the-post system to vote. Voters get to select their first candidate picks, at the end of election majority overrules. Most times the winning candidate had finance difficulties, and lacks support on behalf of the population.
I personally believe our province should take on proportional representation, a party that gets 30% of the votes shall get 30% of the seat in the Legislature. Proportional Representation options would strengthen our democracy and put our citizens needs first. All options are the same: the amount of seats a party is issued from votes gets he equal amount of votes a party receives across the province.
Drishauna Ram
Ms. Mihic
Block 3
In my opinion, I think that British Columbia should stop using the first-past-the-post system, and take up the preferential voting system. Preferential voting is excellent because presumably smaller parties would no longer be denied the support of sympathizers who don’t think they can win a seat and hence vote for someone else, because preferential balloting allows a second, third and fourth choice to be registered. Preferential voting is also better because it end the concern of wasted votes and strategic voting. When preferential voting is used, the successful candidate requires an absolute majority before they can be declared to have won. An addition to this, it allows parties and candidates with like minded policies and philosophies to except preferences in order to increase their chances of winning. Additionally, preferential voting compels parties to try to broaden their appeal to attract second choice support and relatively easy for voters to understand. Preferential voting would be easy to implement for BC, as it would not require redistribution of riding boundaries.
jacob bennett block 3
Elmer B.
Block: 2
Past post is a good voting system but it’s not a great one for example.
If I would to vote for caudate 1 and he has 50 vote and the 2 second caudate
Has 50. The 50 people who voted for caudate 1 would be trashed.
So that does not happened how about to make person give a reason why they vote this caudate and give a good reason not anything like “I vote for him because he is best” that not a good reason. A good reason is give a
1. Explaining why you are voting for the caudate
2. What are you expecting from the caudate
3. How will you support your caudate
When they this out you can get people who understand who they are voting for and don’t get any young people just to vote because they have to vote, so they actual think about the caudate and vote properly
Hello, my name is Jack D. I am currently 15 years old and attending Burnaby North Secondary. These are my opinions on the Electoral Referendum happening November in BC. After viewing multiple sources I have solidified my opinion and I believe that we do need a new voting system. My main reason being that the Liberal Party got 55% of the seats but yet only 39% of the votes. This is without questions asked a minority government and what we all should want as citizens of this province is a majority government, but yet our current system makes it more possible to end up with a minority government (or Coalition) that can be confusing as we don’t have just one party in power calling the shots for BC. I also feel as if this system is more fair to political candidates as everyone’s advantage is a lot more equal (almost like a race where all runners start on a set line) and those parties noticed less get more votes and a better chance to have control over the government. In the end sure this system is more confusing and complicated but hey at least we will be on track to a more fair and majority elected government.
I do not agree that British Columbia should incorporate this new type of electing. I personally think that BC’s first past the vote is still a better way to elect provincially. First past the vote works because it is simple to understand. In the first past the vote system even though the party may have the majority of the seats they may not exactly have the majority of the vote. For example in our last election our government got more seats in the House of Commons then the percentage of votes. This shows that if we voted as a country then we would not have our current party in parliament but as separate areas of Canada we voted in the current prime minister. I think the current system is the better option because it is judged based on each area of voters which is the way we vote. By electing representatives in our area.
For decades, First Past the Post (FPTP) has been the current voting system in British Columbia. However, it is certainly time for a change and Proportional Representation (specifically the Mixed Member Proportional system) is the the right way to go. Proportional Representation is the superior choice over FPTP because it gives minority parties a much better chance of being elected. Our current system is highly unrepresentative and gives all political power to one party. In addition, it often rewards parties that do not receive the majority of the public’s support, and rather parties that obtain just enough votes to win in a particular region. This “winner takes all” system poses as a problem because individuals eligible for voting will be encouraged to vote tactically, meaning they vote not for the candidate they most prefer, but against the candidate they most dislike. Consequently, the voter turnout is much lower for FPTP than what it would be for PR, because who would want to go out and vote if your vote didn’t really count? It is crucial that we come to realize that FPTP is outdated and we need to strive to make a change for the better, just as many individuals state in their campaign slogans. Proportional Representation is used by the majority of the world’s leading democracies, so why can’t we follow in their footsteps?
Out of all the subdivisions of PR, MIxed Member Proportional would be the most fitting system. It is an easy transition from our current system, FPTP since there is still a form of FPTP integrated into it. Voters will cast two votes, one for the party of their choice and the other for the candidate of their choice. The district MLAs are elected using FPTP, while regional MLAs are elected off of a part list to ensure each party’s share of seats will be roughly the same as the popularity vote province-wide. Furthermore, the results we get will reflect what the general population wants. Contrary to FPTP, your individual vote will certainly count and make a difference so it is encouraged that you go out and vote, if you do not already do so!
Jane Wong
Block 3