I'd like to be able to vote for the best candidate anywhere in
BC without regard for whether or not they're local. This form of
"at-large" voting works well at the municipal level. Why not make
it province-wide? Individuals who want to vote for a local
candidate are free to do so under this system.
Proportional representation [PR] is a desirable goal,
but I'm reluctant to put even more power into the hands of
political party leaders by voting for a party instead of voting for
individual candidates. A BC-wide single transferable vote supports
both PR and independent candidates who are accountable to voters
instead of being trained seals following orders of their party
leaders.
I also like the idea of holding an ongoing series of byelections
every few days instead of holding general elections every 4 years.
All the better if the order of byelections is semi-random. This
would make politicians instantly accountable to voters. Politicians
can do a lot of damage in the 4 years it takes to eject them from
office. A majority government that tried to push extremely
unpopular policies would become a minority government within 2
years or less. As soon as their majority started to dwindle, they'd
stop being bullies and start seeking a consensus.
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