Submission CARTER-1202 (Online)
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Submission By | Dave Carter |
Address | Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada |
Organization | |
Date | 20040812 |
Category | Electoral system change |
Abstract
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No voting system will correct all the problems in our democratic
process; ultimately people will have to make the system functional
by thier own direction and involvement. MMP will make
this public input and direction easier. [1 page]
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Submission Content
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I am in favor of a mixed member proportional voting system
for the following reasons:
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It is proportionally fair and it encourages more people to vote
because they know that their vote will not be wasted. It allows
more flexibility in voting. Many people have expressed that they
would like to vote for a candidate but vote for the party of thier
choice as well.
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It allows new political parties to elect representatives to
government and bring new ideas and direction into government. It is
more inclusive of various opinions and ideas and it reflects more
accurately the varied range of political opinions that exist in
B.C. today.
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It broadens the range of influence in the political landscape,
making it harder for specific lobbying intrests to control the
governing parties.
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It maintains a vote for a local candidate in each electoral
district. In a MMP system, a person can vote to determine the
candidates on the party list by joining the party of their choice
if they wish to.
The main problem with our current first past the post voting
system is in its lack of proportionality. A system that allows a
party to win an election and form a majority government with less
votes than its opposing party is clearly unfair. Equally unfair is
the lack of representation for voters whose votes are in a minority
without any seats to represent them. This situation narrows voters
choices as well as causes many people not to vote at all. No voting
system will correct all the problems in our democratic process,
ultimatly people will have to make the system functional by their
own direction and involvement. The mixed member propotional voting
system will however make this public input and direction easier.
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