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Submission GOUGE-0084 (Online)

Submission ByCitizen Ted Gouge
AddressSalt Spring Island, BC, Canada
Organization
Date20040208
CategoryDemocratic elections
Abstract
MLAs should be chosen by lot from names on the voters list.  This would remove many of the problems with the current system of representation.  The Citizens' Assembly can put this proposal to a referendum [3 pages].

Submission Content
A Proposal for Constitutional Reform in British Columbia

The Problem

1.    It costs a lot of money to be elected to public office.  The cost of an election campaign is roughly proportional to the power wielded by the successful candidate after the election.  Except for a very few, very wealthy individuals, no one can run for public office without the support, financial and otherwise, of others.  The world being what it is, those who give such support expect favours  from their candidate if she or he is elected.  This system, which has operated in Canada since Confederation, has produced a number of undesirable consequences:

   a. political patronage;

   b. poor public policy choices, because public policies driven by political patronage rarely serve the interest of the citizens as a whole;

   c. public cynicism and distrust of government;

   d. difficulty in attracting honest and capable people to run for public office;

   e. the creation of a class of professional political managers, who earn their living by trafficking in politics and patronage.

The Solution

2.    Choose legislators at random from the voter’s list.

   a. Because no one will be permitted to campaign for public office, no one will incur any electoral expenses, or require any kind of support to be elected.  The legislators chosen by lot will owe no political debts to anyone.

   b. Because the legislators will not be identified until the “election” day, the professional political managers will be out of business.  There will be no one for them to manage, or sell to the public.

   c. The constitution should provide that no one is eligible to serve more than one term of office.  This will spread the burden of public service more fairly.  Ineligibility for a second term will reduce the incentive to attempt to curry favour with the legislators.  Put bluntly, why try to corrupt someone who will be out of office (forever) in a year or two?

   d. Random selection will ensure (on average) appropriate representation from all sectors of the community, without discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnicity or political (or other) orientation.

   e. There is no reason to think that legislators chosen by lot will be less able or diligent than those now chosen by the electoral process.

3.    The idea may seem startling.  It would certainly represent a departure from modern notions of democracy.  However, it is not unprecedented.  Athens is often referred to as the cradle of western democracy.  Athenian democracy went through a number of constitutional changes over 500 years.  However, for much of that time, Athens was governed by legislators and judges chosen by lot from the Athenian citizenry.  It seemed to work well for them.  For a full discussion of the Athenian experience, refer to The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes by MH Hansen (University of Oklahoma Press, 1999).

The Details

4.    Establish a set of criteria to qualify as an elector in British Columbia.  No doubt, those would be similar to the criteria which now govern eligibility to vote in British Columbia elections.  Assign a 10-digit number to each elector.  The first 3 digits would identify the constituency in which the elector resides, and the latter 7 digits would identify the individual elector.  Random-number programs are in common use in scientific research, and could be used to select the legislators from among the electors.

5.    If selected, service as an elector would be mandatory, in the same way as jury service.  A process should be established to allow an elector to apply to be excused from service on grounds of hardship.  In the case of jury service, such applications are made to the BC Supreme Court.  In order to be as inclusive as possible, any Canadian citizen who filed a British Columbia tax return or received social assistance in British Columbia in the year preceding the “election” should be on the list automatically.  Any other Canadian citizen who resides in British Columbia should be able to apply to be on the list.

6.    The term of office should be relatively short  -  1 or 2 years.

7.    The legislators should be required to attend in Victoria on a fixed day (say the first Monday in May), and to choose an executive (a Premier and cabinet) from among themselves.  The business of the Legislature and government could then proceed as it does now.

8.    The salary should be sufficient to avoid any risk of unfairness to the legislators.  The following might be an appropriate formula.  A legislator’s salary shall be equal to his or her average taxable income over the 5 years preceding her or his election, subject to two constraints:

   a. No legislator’s salary shall be less than the median taxable income of British Columbia taxpayers in the year preceding the legislator’s election.

   b. No legislator’s salary shall be more than double the median taxable income of British Columbia taxpayers in the year preceding the legislator’s election. The legislators’ expenses of attending in Victoria during legislative sessions (and conducting other legitimate public business) should be paid on a generous scale.

A Plea of Urgency

9.    No elected government would ever present my proposal to the people.  The professional political managers will never allow a proposal to go forward which, if accepted, would put them out of business.

10. However, as I understand it, the present government has promised to put your recommendations to a referendum, whatever your recommendations might be.  For that reason, your recommendations represent a unique opportunity  -  it is probably the only chance to put my suggestion to the people.  I hope that you will consider it.

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