Submission BAKER-0457 (Online)
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| Submission By | Ms Louella Baker |
| Address | Quathiaski Cove, BC, Canada |
| Organization | |
| Date | 20040522 |
| Category | Electoral system change |
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Abstract
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By choosing the MMP system, we would join 70 countries
throughout the world who have reformed their electoral systems to
more equitably and effectively represent the votes of their
citizens. [2 pages]
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Submission Content
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I firmly believe that our electoral system in BC
needs to be changed for the following reasons:
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As one citizen of the 42 percent who did not vote for the
present government, I feel that my vote didn't count; I have no
representation for my beliefs in our government.
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We have more than two parties in BC however, only the
two strongest parties have representation in the parliament.
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Due to the first-past-the-post system in BC, we have a history
of voting against a government rather than for a government.
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There is no stability in this type of voting. Our government is
continually making huge swings from left to right which costs too
much and leaves voters feeling frustrated, unrepresented, and
alienated.T
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The present system is out of date and results in over-powering
parties pushing their agenda with no opposition.
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We need a system that will translate all votes into
representation in order to encourage more people to vote,
especially more young people.
I would support the Mixed Member Proportional system where seats
won would be proportional to votes. This system would ensure
that:
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Each voter gets two votes: one for their local electoral
district representative and the other for the political party of
their choice.
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Local representation would be maintained.
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A party's overall share of seats in the Legislature would equal
its share of the vote on the ballot.
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Governments would be a mixture of political parties and beliefs
and would be forced to cooperate and negotiate.
By choosing the MMP system, we would join 70 countries
throughout the world who have reformed their electoral systems to
more equitably and effectively represent the votes of their
citizens.
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