Electoral Reform 5 of 6
The claim is made that proportional representation is ‘more fair’ than first past the post because proportional representation splits the seats according to the percentage of the vote each party wins.
Continue reading Proportional Representation [Electoral Reform] 5 of 6
Electoral Reform 4 of 6
I suspect that the idea that our electoral system is ‘broken’ and needs ‘fixing’ is a reflection of voters dissatisfaction with government.
But is democracy ‘broken’ and can, not will but can, changing the electoral system ‘fix’ what is ‘broken’?
On the question of whether democracy in Canada is ‘broken’ read “The Unbroken Machine: Canada’s Democracy in Action” by Dale Smith (2017).
Continue reading Proportional Representation [Electoral Reform] 4 of 6
Electoral Reform 3 of 6
Growing up, one of the questions my parents posed was “So, if everyone was jumping off a bridge, you would jump too?” whenever I tried ‘everyone is doing it’ to justify my action.
‘Just because everyone’ was not an acceptable excuse for not thinking it through myself.
If we are considering a change as far reaching and impactful as a proportional representation electoral system, we had better think it through carefully to avoid surprises and unwanted consequences.
Continue reading Proportional Representation [Electoral Reform] 3 of 6