Submission CARELESS-1067 (Online)
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Submission By | Ric Careless |
Address | Gibsons, BC, |
Organization | |
Date | 20040811 |
Category | Citizens' Assembly process, Electoral system change |
Abstract
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I have lived in BC for 35 years and I strongly support the MMP
system because I believe this system provides the best opportunity
for each vote to count, and thus is more democratic than our
existing system. [1 page]
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Submission Content
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I have lived in BC for 35 years and I strongly support the MMP
system because I believe this system provides the best opportunity
for each vote to count, and thus is more democratic than our
existing system. I am very concerned over Commission's decision to
hear oral submissions from only 9 individuals of the 80 who have
applied to present. I am even more concerned when I note that 4 of
these 9 (i.e. 45% of presenters) support some form of preferential
voting - such as STV. This in no way reflects the fact that 80% of
the written submissions to the Commission support a proportional
MMP style system and only 12% have written in to support an STV
preferential-style approach. Seems to me the very type of voter
misrepresentation and power manipulation that this Commission is
supposed to be trying to solve in our electoral system is being
utilized to influence the Commission's final recommendations.
Whether this was intentional or not, the optics are terrible. The
perspectives of your presenters should proportionally conform to
the perspectives which have been submitted to you by the public.
Failure to do this will seriously -perhaps fatally - damage the
credibility of your Commission and only deepen the public's
mistrust of, indeed disgust with politics. This is the last thing a
democracy such as British Columibia needs. And you of this
Commission should know that better than most. If you want your
work, deliberations and recommendations to have any credibility, I
most strongly suggest you correct this imbalance in the presenters
that you are hearing from. Thank you.
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