- Adopt proportional representation. Support intolerance?
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Here's something to consider the next time someone tries to convince you it's vital that Canada revitalize the electoral system by abandoning first-past-the-post in favour of proportional representation.
Ontario and British Columbia both put PR proposals on the ballot in recent elections and asked voters to pass judgment. In each case the plans were trounced. There is no guarantee they will stay trounced, though, as there is a devoted (if limited) constituency convinced that Canadian democracy is doomed to increasing irrelevance and voter apathy unless some new process is introduced to galvanize voters.
The usual argument is that FPTP discriminates against smaller parties like the Greens that may attract a respectable number of votes without winning any actual seats. FPTP also doesn't guarantee that a party will obtain seats that accurately reflect its vote count: A party could win 25% of the vote but get only 10% of the seats, depending on how its votes are distributed.
All true. But PR doesn't just work to the benefit of small, friendly parties with happy platforms that never hurt anyone. Any party that can muster a moderate-sized block of votes gets a seat. And anger attracts a lot of votes. Consider the recent elections for the European Parliament. Only 43% of eligible voters bothered to turn out, undermining the argument that PR fosters voter interest, and allowing parties with only mediocre support to pick up a seat or two.
That included the British National Party, which won two seats. The BNP is a whites-only, anti-immigration party that British Conservative leader David Cameron denounced as "Nazi thugs."
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Sovereignty, Proportional Representtation, etc. etc.....
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About Me
- Unhypentated Canadian
- I lean to the right but I still have a heart and if I have a mission it is to respond to attacks on people not available to protect themselves and to point out the hypocrisy of the left at every opportunity.MY MAJOR GOAL IS HIGHLIGHT THE HYPOCRISY AND STUPIDITY OF THE LEFTISTS ON TORONTO CITY COUNCIL. Last word: In the final analysis this blog is a relief valve for my rants/raves.
1 comment:
The BNP also won three local council seats under first-past-the-post. Should we just abolish voting then?
Proportional representation is just an ungainly phrase that means "you get what you vote for". It might be better described as "a fair voting system".
Proportional voting is not about what is good for small parties, or any parties. It is about what is good for voters. All voters.
Proportional voting is about giving voters the power to hold politicians and political parties accountable, by giving every voter a vote that actually makes a difference — a vote that actually helps somebody get elected.
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