The most significant drawback is candidates do not need a
majority to win should three or more candidates run. For example, a
conservative candidate for mayor gets 45% of the vote, but there are two progressive
candidates who get 35% and 20% of the vote. Even though a majority (55%) wanted
a progressive candidate, the conservative candidate won because of vote
splitting between the progressive candidates. When applied to political parties
at the provincial and federal levels, it becomes possible for a party to win a
majority of the seats with less than a majority of the votes. In extreme cases
such as the 1987 New Brunswick provincial election, the Liberal Party won all
58 seats with only 60% of the vote, which left 40% of the province whose
interests were not represented in the provincial legislature.[1]
Given the issues of false majorities, vote splitting, and under-represented
interests, there are two electoral reform proposals which are currently being
debated. In Toronto, the focus is on the Ranked Ballot Initiative,
while Fair Vote Canada is
currently promoting proportional representation at the federal level.
Ranked Ballot
Initiative
The Ranked Ballot Initiative promotes a form of instant
runoff vote, in which voters rank the candidates on their ballots. If on the
first ballot no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes, the candidate with
the lowest number of votes gets dropped and the next preference gets counted.
This continues until one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in order to
ensure the choice truly reflects the will of voters. Currently, all major federal
and provincial political parties use runoff voting to elect their leader. This
form of electoral reform works best for governments without political parties,
which makes this a viable option for Toronto. Toronto City Council approved
ranked ballots in June 2013, but must get approval from the Ontario government
prior to implementation.[2]
Proportional
Representation
For governments with political parties, a form of
proportional representation may be more appropriate, given a runoff vote could
compound the false majority issue. Proportional representation (PR) is a system
where seats are awarded based on the proportion of votes won by each party, as
well as lists provided by each political party. Germany uses a variant of this
system called mixed member proportional, in which voters cast two votes; one
for the candidate and one for the party. Half of the seats are awarded based on
the candidate vote, and the other half are awarded based on party lists. This allows
for local and national interests to be properly represented.
Another form of PR is called the Single Transferrable Vote
(STV), which involves multiple elected officials in fewer ridings and voting
via ranked ballot. This 1980’s clip of John Cleese discussing proportional
representation is similar to the STV system.
Closing Remarks
By implementing much needed electoral reform, all three
levels of government will be able to ensure the interests of its residents are
more fairly represented and future false majorities can be avoided, which in
turn can boost voter turnout. It can also prevent controversial legislation
such as the so-called Fair Elections Act from being rushed through parliament,
the consequences of which would require a separate post altogether.
Cheers!
Rob Z (e-mail)Follow @RZaichkowski
[1] Province
of New Brunswick. “Report of the Chief Electoral Officer.” 1987. http://www.gnb.ca/elections/pdf/Thirty-First%20General%20Election,%201987,%20Report%20of%20the%20Chief%20Electoral%20Officer.pdf
[2] Toronto Star.
“Toronto city council backs radical change to ranked ballots.”
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/06/11/toronto_city_council_backs_radical_change_to_ranked_ballots_and_letting_noncitizens_participate.html
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