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Newsletter #7

23rd March, 2004 : Vancouver (Internal)
 

Preliminary statement
On Sunday, March 21, the Assembly completed its sixth and final session of the “learning phase.”  Over the past three months, members of the Assembly have discussed the nature of politics in BC and considered the values they believe should characterize political life in this province.  They reviewed our current electoral system and explored alternative systems used in democracies outside of North America. 

To wrap up this phase of their work and to initiate the public hearings, the Assembly issued a Preliminary Statement to the People of British Columbia. 

The Statement contained four sections:
• The BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform
• The Assembly’s work to date
• The Citizens’ Assembly assessment of the current BC electoral system
• Approaches to alternative electoral systems

The BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform
This section recounts the history of the Assembly and the selection of members, as well as providing an overview of the Assembly’s work schedule.

The Assembly’s work to date
The learning phase undertaken by the Assembly from January through March is outlined briefly, including the study of the five “families” of electoral systems.  In reference to these electoral options, the Statement says:

The Assembly has taken the measure of these different kinds of systems and discovered that each has its advantages and disadvantages … Assessing the comparative merits of differing systems is neither easy nor straightforward, but Assembly members identified several criteria to use as benchmarks:
• The extent to which electoral outcomes reflected votes cast (the issue of vote-seat relationships)
• The nature of the linkage between voters and their representatives (the character of local representation)
• The range and nature of choice offered to voters (issues ranging from the number and nature of competing parties to the form of the ballots)
• The impact of the system on governance (the issues of effective government and the working of the legislature).

The Citizens’ Assembly assessment of the current BC electoral system
In assessing the electoral system currently used in BC, the Assembly stated that “members are cognizant that our current single-member plurality electoral system – sometimes known as First-Past-the-Post – has much to recommend it … we would not want to abandon such a system unless it was clear that: 1) the system had deficiencies that detracted from the evolution and maintenance of healthy democratic politics in the province, and 2) we were convinced that there was an alternative system that could be adopted that would speak to the identified deficiencies.”
 
The Statement lists the following advantages and disadvantages of the current system.

Strengths of the current system:   
1. Local representation and accountability
The current system provides for individuals to be elected representing specific and identifiable areas of the province. This fosters a direct link between voters and their representatives and ensures that all areas of the province have a spokesperson in the legislature. This system … enables issues of local concern to be placed on the public agenda, and provides a mechanism for voters to hold representatives directly accountable for their actions …

2. Style of government and representation
The current system promotes the creation of majority governments that can claim an electoral mandate. These governments have a security of tenure that allows them to plan confidently for the life of the Legislative Assembly and to implement their program as they see fit…                          

3.  Simplicity, familiarity and transparent counting
The single-member plurality system is familiar and straightforward. Voters are simply required to indicate their preferred candidate from the list of names presented. Winners are determined by a simple count of the ballots and are known almost immediately.
 
Weaknesses of the current system:
1.  Lack of proportionality
Our single-member plurality system is one in which there is no direct connection between the number of votes a party receives and the number of seats it wins in the Legislative Assembly. The system favours large parties over small ones, creating governments with ‘artificial’ majorities and depriving minority views from finding expression in the legislature...

2. Government-dominated parliaments
The system fosters an adversarial style of two-party politics in which government domination of the legislature becomes standard practice. With strong party discipline this ensures centralized decision-making with no effective opportunity for the legislature to hold the government accountable between elections…

3. Impacts on governance and voters
Adversarial politics often result in sharp swings in public policy as newly elected governments often undo or reverse the programs of their predecessors…

Approaches to alternative electoral systems
“The Assembly has considered a wide range of alternative electoral systems and studied their impact in other democracies… While it is difficult to predict in detail how any other specific system would work in British Columbia, the Assembly is convinced that any alternative system it considers must reflect the values it believes are central to the political health of the province’s democracy.”

In the statement, the Assembly drew attention to two important features of electoral systems which it values:
• Local representation … “…The Assembly is interested in considering electoral systems whose features help ensure that elected representatives are more responsive to the concerns and views of their constituent.”
• Proportionality … “The Assembly believes it is important that the outcome of an election, in terms of the distribution of seats in the Legislature, should reflect the expressed intentions of citizens as expressed in their votes. This is the principle of proportionality – seats won should be proportional to votes won…”
 
The Statement concludes:
“The Assembly wants to hear from British Columbians. It wants to hear if they share its conviction that local representation needs to be an important element in the province’s electoral system. It wants to hear if they agree with it that a more proportional system would better reflect the basic values of our province’s population. It wants to hear what kind of choices they would like to see at the polls. And it is anxious to hear what kind of electoral system our fellow citizens believe can best express our common values. 

”We welcome feedback on these and any other aspect of the electoral system that British Columbians feel would contribute to our province’s democratic process. We look forward to hearing a full expression of public views at our public hearings to be held across the province during May and June, and encourage formal submissions through our website or to the Assembly’s office.”

What kind of voting system do YOU want?
The Assembly has begun the dialogue with its Preliminary Statement.  Now members need to hear from you.  Your views are important.

Get involved. Come to a public hearing.  Make a presentation.  Send in a submission. 

In May and June, members of the Assembly will hold 49 public hearings in communities throughout the province to listen to British Columbians’ views.  Plan to attend the hearing in your area.  This is your chance to help shape British Columbia’s electoral system.

Speakers available
Members of the Assembly are eager to speak to community and school groups.  If you know of a potential audience, please contact our office at 1-866-667-1232 or call Marilyn at 604-660-1363. 
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