Canada’s electoral reform committee has asked individuals and groups to present briefs. Here is 123 Canada’s brief.
submission-to-erre-from-123-canada
Highlights are:
- Among the hundred witnesses and panelists the committee allowed, virtually none were preferential voting experts.
- We propose 3 alternatives:
A) Optional Preferential Voting,
B) Two-Round System,
C) Reforms in case the electoral system is unchanged.
- Preferential voting is mainstream in Canada, in English speaking countries, and French speaking countries.
- The major distortion is vote splitting, which allows representatives that the majority doesn’t want.
- Strategic voting shows how important this is to voters.
- There are two different models of democratic consensus. In ours, consensus comes from voters, not parties.
- Preferential voting empowers voters who have minority views, not parties.
- There are three components to complexity. Overall least complex is Two Round Systems.
- Preferential systems preserve the benefits of single-member ridings.
- Preferential voting has great support and it is the system most likely to increase in support.