Thursday, September 20, 2007, 05:40 PM - Electoral Reform
...the Fall Newsletter, the articles are posted below as a series.
I hope this helps to clarify the Question on Electoral Reform which will be included on the ballot on October 10th.
Vicki
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Thursday, September 20, 2007, 05:38 PM - Electoral Reform
The media has remained relatively quiet about this process and the recommendation of the Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform. We are devoting this newsletter to helping us all to better understand why the CHP supports the recommendation of the Citizens Assembly in Ontario.
In Canada, including each of the provinces, we use the electoral system called 'First Past the Post” (FPTP). The CHP, and in Ontario, the Family Coalition Party, support the need to change to an electoral system which better represents the diversity of our Citizens.
FPTP worked well in a two Party system however it provides ineffective representation in our multi-Party country where many viewpoints should be represented. There have been many calls for electoral reform.
The Provincial government assigned a 'Citizens Assembly' to explore our FPTP system along with other electoral systems used around the world. The Citizens Assembly began examining the various electoral options in 2006 and has made their recommendation to the Provincial Government. It’s Your Decision!
You can find more information on this process at: http://www.citizensassembly.gov.on.ca
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Thursday, September 20, 2007, 05:37 PM - Electoral Reform
Most democracies changed from the FPTP system in the last century because it ALWAYS fails to provide representation for ALL voters. Some voters will be over represented while others will achieve no representation.
It's hard to believe but, the last legitimate majority government in Ontario was in 1937. A majority government in this Province has been elected by as few as 37% of those voters casting a ballot (1990) . Although most provincial elections have produced a majority government, these governments were the will of a small percentage of voters.
In Ontario, 40% of the voters have given up voting for various reasons. One reason, which is often cited, is: "There's no point in voting. None of the Parties represent my position." This voter apathy is an inherent problem of the FPTP system and results in the disenfranchisement of many voters.
If we consider the number of voters it would require to produce a majority government, we see that, with only 60% of eligible voters casting a ballot, 22% support from the entire electorate can produce a majority government. In other words, 22% of total electoral support provides a party with 100% of the governing power in this province. The flip side of this is that as many as 78% of eligible voters do not achieve representation.
FPTP takes very little voter shift to create wild swings in public policy as we saw in the election of 1990 where the NDP won a majority government.
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Thursday, September 20, 2007, 05:36 PM - Electoral Reform
The system recommended by the Ontario Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform is MMPR.
Under this system each voter will vote twice on each ballot: once for the person they support and once for the Political Party they support.
This will produce fairer election results. For example, if a Party receives 25% of the vote, they receive 25% of the seats in the Legislature.
The Citizen's Assembly has recommended 90 'Local Members' be elected using the present system of voting. There will be 39 'List Members' elected by voter support for the Parties (the 2nd vote made on your ballot). The 'List Members' will be elected in the order presented prior to the election by each Party. There is a minimum threshold of 3% support
by the electorate in order for a Party to win any 'List seats'. The Provincial Legislature will increase in size from 107 seats to 129 seats.
When bringing an issue to your MPP, you can bring it before your Local MPP or a List Member from a particular Party or an MPP well informed on your region or issue. This system does not change the legal requirement of 'representation by population' currently used.
This system of MMPR has been successfully used by the United Kingdom, Scotland and Wales since 1999 and by New Zealand since 1996. It has produced healthy, stable governments which fairly reflect the diversity of their voters.
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Thursday, September 20, 2007, 05:35 PM - Electoral Reform
From the above overview of the two electoral systems there are a couple of things that immediately pop out. The first is the increase in the size of the Legislature from 107 to 129. Until 1999, our Provincial Legislative Assembly had 130 seats. The Legislative Assembly is returning to slightly under the pre-1999 level.
The second objection is that we will be less represented because the Electoral Districts will be larger. Our electoral districts may be larger however, we have achieved greater representation by having, not only representation by area, but also representation by political opinion.
The third objection is regarding the ‘List’ Candidates. What if a Party produces ‘List’ Candidates which are totally unacceptable? If the ‘List’ Candidates are unacceptable then you vote for the Party which has provided the best ‘List’.
The fourth objection is the concern over the proliferation of small Parties. This provides us with better representation of the diverse views of people in Ontario. Again, there is a 3% Threshold of support which a Party must achieve to receive seats in the Legislative Assembly.
One of the benefits immediately visible is that every vote cast in a Provincial election would count towards some representation for that person. Thus, there are no wasted votes and every voter achieves some representation. This has shown to increase voter participation in countries using MMPR.
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Thursday, September 20, 2007, 05:34 PM - Electoral Reform
In order to accept voter decision on this Referendum, our Provincial Government requires a ‘double majority’. The decision to change our electoral system requires 60% support from the voters across Ontario PLUS 60% support from the Electoral Districts Across Ontario. A lofty goal when a Province can opt out of Canada on a single majority vote.
Democracy by definition is ‘rule by the people’. Our present electoral system does not allow all voters to have a say in the governance of our Province. By switching to MMPR voters in this Province will achieve better representation which also encourages greater voter turn out because your vote really does count!
Ensure your vote in the October 10th Referendum is an informed vote!
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