So Misguided

What’s the deal with this single transferable vote? Well I think it is probably the only exciting thing about the upcoming election.

The May 17 provincial election ballot in British Columbia will contain a referendum question about whether the province should switch to a new method of voting, called the single transferable vote.

The Citizens Assembly, which proposed the concept, shows how the proposed system works.

Here’s the link to the Citizensassembly.bc.ca Resource page with a flash animation on how it works.

Posted by Monique at 07:31 PM. Filed under: News •

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CBC also has a great illustration of the Single Transferrable Vote and its results in an election of favourite ice cream flavours: http://www.cbc.ca/bcvotes2005/features/stv.html

A Two-Vote Electoral System Proposed

The need for electoral reform resonated with me.  While the Single Transferable Vote concept was not acceptable to BC Voters, I believe it would be a mistake to give up on electoral reform.  I believe first-past-the-post voting system is wrong because it allows disenfranchisement and encourages voter apathy. 

I would support a simpler electoral reform, such as a Two-Vote electoral system.  The province would be divided into 43 constituencies which would elect two representatives.  The ballot would allow a Voter to choose their top candidate using the traditional “first-past-the-post” method, and allow a second vote for Voter’s alternative choice of a political party or identified independents.  Simple rule, between your two votes, you can’t vote for the same party twice (unless you wish to register an abstention). 

This simple binary voting system would not be as perfect as STV, but would result in a legislature that is more representative.  Knowing you have two representatives to choose from in your constituency would encourage greater voter turnout because their votes would matter and result in increased representation.

Could you support simpler Two-Vote electoral system?