[To see the submission in its original format, see the linked
documents, below]
I'm very pleased to witness, first hand, the formation of the
Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform in British Columbia and I
want to participate.
A few months ago I saw an article in a local newspaper that
mentioned the formation of a group of citizens for the purpose of
examining the electoral system. My interest was peeked and I
immediately searched for information about a "Citizen's Assembly"
on the Internet. In just a couple of minutes I found a web site
that provided information about the new assembly being formed.
I was quite impressed and I wanted to get involved. The web site
described how citizens would be chosen through a process of random
selection from the voter's list. I wanted to be selected, so I went
to the Elections BC web site and renewed my voter registration
information.
A few weeks later, I received a letter asking me if I would like
to become a member of the Citizen's Assembly. I responded right
away with the answer, yes. Another couple of weeks later a second
letter arrived. It said that I have been randomly selected to
attend an informational meeting where two voters will be selected
for my electoral district. I attended the meeting, but I wasn't
selected to become a member
To remain involved with The Citizen's Assembly, I check the web
site every few days and I've subscribed to the Newsletter email
list.
For several years I've been researching the issue of electoral
systems in North America, mostly because I'm not happy with the
limited choices for citizens. I know that there must be a better
way to elect our public servants into office. In my research I
found two methods that seem to be excellent ways to improve our
electoral systems, locally and globally.
I wish to present some of the results of my research for
scrutiny by members of the Citizen's Assembly. The first idea I
wish to promote is called, the NOTA vote, which stands for None Of
The Above. The second idea I wish to promote is known as
Proportional Representation.
The NOTA vote means that every election ballot would have at the
bottom, after all the candidates' names, the option to vote None Of
The Above. If the majority of voters select the NOTA vote then we
can use the same system of random selection that was used to form
the Citizen's Assembly. It's the same random selection process used
to acquire members of the jury in our courts.
I have attached a document (Vote NOTA.doc) that explains in
further detail the NOTA voter option. This idea is not new. In fact
there are several web sites to find more information about the NOTA
voter option and the need to enact Voter Consent laws to preserve
democratic rule in government and public offices. One of the best
web sites is the Voters for None Of The Above found
at:
http://www.nota.org
Proportional Representation is a way to allow ALL the votes in
an election to count towards the final tally. Without Proportional
Representation, if a district votes 51% for a party, then that
district is considered to be a win for the party and the 49% that
voted for other parties is NOT counted in the final tally. For all
intensive purposes those votes for other parties are discarded. In
a system with Proportional Representation, all the votes are
tallied towards the final count, so no votes are wasted and every
citizen's vote contributes towards a final decision. There's a more
thorough description of how Proportional Representation works
at:
http://www.fairvote.org/pr/progressive.htm
Throughout my research I have discovered that we citizens have
been mislead into thinking that there is no better way to form
governments and fill public offices than our current systems of
partisan coercion. I say coercion, because citizens are
given limited choices, votes are lost due to a lack of proportional
representation, election promises are seldom kept and it always
seem to be, whichever party spends the most money on a campaign,
wins. Then we read about Premier after Premier after Premier who
has to vacate his post due to scandals.
I know there's a better way. I believe the NOTA voter option,
Voter Consent laws and Proportional Representation will bring us
all closer to a better way to elect our public representatives.
We, the citizen's of this wonderful land, need to learn more
about our rights and we must learn to stand up for those rights. We
are all sovereign individuals with inalienable rights and we need
to preserve our right to control how officials are elected to
public office.
I have attached another document (What is a Sovereign
Individual.doc) to explain more about being a sovereign
individual.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this letter and
special thanks goes to all the people who support the Citizen's
Assembly on Electoral Reform. May we be successful in finding a
better way! Peace and Blessings to you all.
Submitted respectfully and graciously,
Rob Dubois, concerned citizen
Shuswap Electoral District
levelCMS