Newsletter #5

 

Web resources
Great news!  You can now access on our website both audio and video recordings of all Citizens' Assembly plenary sessions to date. 

To watch the videos, you will need Windows Media Player.  If you do not have it, you can download it for free, from a link on the Audio/Video page of our website. There are versions for PCs and for Macs.

Handouts and PowerPoint presentations from those learning sessions are also available through our website's Learning Materials pages. Learn along with the Assembly members as they study electoral systems in use around the world.

Public hearings
Minor changes have been made to the public hearing schedule.  The hearing in Sechelt, for example, has been changed from June 24th to June 5th.  A revised public hearing schedule is now posted on the website. 

If you’d like to present at one of these hearings, you can complete a presentation request form on our website or you can call our office 1-866-667-1232 and we’ll mail a form to you.  The Assembly needs to receive your presentation request at least two weeks prior to the public hearing.

Assembly to hear presentations
Members voted to reserve time on the first weekend they meet in plenary this fall – September 11-12 – to hear selected presentations.  Members will be hearing presentations at the public hearings throughout May and June, with six to12 members present at any given hearing.  By reserving this time in early September, the entire Assembly will be able to hear presentations of particular merit.

Presenters wishing to appear before the entire Assembly must present at a public hearing as well as make special application to the Assembly.  Full information will be posted soon on the Assembly website.

A special committee of Assembly members will meet in July to decide which presenters will be invited to appear before the entire Assembly.

Assembly completes its fourth session
On February 21-22, members of the Citizens’ Assembly studied the remaining three (of five) electoral system families.
• Proportional representation list systems
• Proportional representation by single transferable vote systems
• Mixed systems

Proportional representation systems
Proportional representation (PR) systems vary widely but all are designed to ensure that the range of opinion in the Legislature reflects the range of opinion in the electorate.  These systems distribute seats in proportion to the share of the vote received by each party or candidate.

There are two major types of proportional representation systems:
• PR-List systems
• PR by the single transferable vote (PR-STV)

PR-list systems
In PR-List systems, each party offers voters a list of candidates for election and voters select between party lists. 

Lists can be either “closed” or “open.”  If the lists are closed, candidates are elected in the order set out by the party.  So candidates listed at the bottom of the list are less likely to be elected than those at the top.  If the lists are open, voters can indicate which candidate(s) they prefer on the party list.

Proportional representation by the single transferable vote (PR-STV)
PR-STV is also designed to create a representative assembly which mirrors voter support.  However, in contrast to PR-List systems which reflect support for political parties, PR-STV is based on voters indicating their preferences for individual candidates. 

PR-STV systems ask voters to rank candidates on the ballot (which is called a preferential ballot). This allows voters to choose between candidates for the same party or from different parties. 

Mixed systems
In some ways it is misleading to call mixed systems a distinct ‘family’ of electoral systems. As the name implies, these systems attempt to mix two (or more) different systems in an attempt to obtain the advantages of the different systems while minimizing their disadvantages. 

The most widely used mixed systems attempt to balance two key principles that are generally seen as mutually exclusive:
• Identifiable local representatives
• Some measure of proportionality

While there are many ways in which systems can be mixed, the possibilities include:
• Using different systems in different regions
• Using a mix of systems across the country
• Using different systems to elect different levels of government

Next meetings – March 6-7
In their next round of meetings, March 6-7, Assembly members focus on criteria for choosing electoral systems, and the impact of change. Special guest speakers will be David Farrell and Elizabeth McLeay.  Farrell wrote the textbook being used by members, and McLeay has been monitoring New Zealand's electoral system.

As always, these meetings are open to the public.