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We talk about strategic voting and participation in Ontario and Canada.
We talk about the pitfalls of the current voting system.
We talk about what has been explored as alternatives.
We talk about what we want from a good election system.
Show Notes
Strategic voting
â Toronto Starâ endorsed the NDP, Liberals, and Greens, and encouraged Ontarians to vote strategically to prevent a PC majority
â https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2022/05/27/ontario-voters-should-back-progressive-parties-to-avoid-a-second-ford-majority.htmlâ (op-ed)
None of the choices are perfect, but for us the best option is to get behind the Liberal party in ridings where they are the main alternative to the PCs (including most of those in and around Toronto and in Ottawa). In ridings where the election is a two-way contest between the PCs and New Democrats, we recommend supporting the NDP.
â https://the-peak.ca/2021/09/strategic-voting-is-an-outdated-way-to-use-your-vote/â
Strategic voting is harmful because parties like the Green Party or the New Democratic Party (NDP) often lose support as people fear theyâre wasting their vote by choosing them. This may resonate with young voters who have viewpoints which align more with these parties, but feel as though they shouldnât vote for them as they wonât get elected anyway.
There are only two major parties and voting for others is almost always a waste. â https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_lawâ
Duverger’s law holds that single-ballot â majoritarianâ elections with â single-member districtsâ (such as â first past the postâ ) tend to favor a â two-party systemâ .
Voters are disconnected from issues and feel like they are wasting their vote.
Leads to lower turnout:
â https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Ontario_general_electionâ
The election set a record for the lowest voter turnout in an Ontario provincial election, as only 43.53% of the people who were eligible voted. This broke the previous record for low turnout of 48.2% in the 2011 election.
Forces parties to become more centrist and compromise on core issues to appeal to the âbroad centreâ voters.
- High voter turnout
- Low rate of ballot spoilage
- Fast turnaround of results (ideally same day)
- Transparency and auditability of the polls
- Representation of issues rather than personalities
- Cheap and easy to implement
â https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ask-electoral-reform-2021-federal-election-1.6163972â
Major parties generally not very committed to electoral reform but there is still great interest among citizens:
âŚCanadians from across the country have emailed CBC News to express their frustration with an elections system they say still doesn’t properly reflect how people vote.
Conservatives likely to oppose.
- Do nothing
- Approval voting â https://electionscience.org/approval-voting-101/â
- Ranked ballot (instant runoff voting, IRV) â https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/ranked-ballots-london-history-1.6450544â
But by all accounts, London pulled it off well enough to inspire voters in other municipalities â including â Kingston â and â Cambridge â â to follow its lead and give ranked ballots a try in the next municipal election. ⌓The election went well,” said Graham about London’s 2018 vote. “We heard lots of positive comments during the election about people wanting to have more choice and more say."âŚWhen the Ford government moved to nix ranked ballots, officials said it was to save municipalities money and ensure voting systems were consistent across the province.
â https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/09/18/analysis/what-happened-when-ontarios-london-voted-using-ranked-ballotsâ
Encouraged diverse candidates to run, other municipalities to hold referendums but was more complex and expensive, and ultimately scrapped.
Citizens’ Assembly: â https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/110476/motions/12180488â
We donât want to end up with American style two major party system and no real choice.
What is a good outcome of an electoral system?What can be done?