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Submission KENNEDY-0767 (Online)

Submission ByMr. John Kennedy
AddressBurnaby, BC, Canada
Organization
Date20040628
CategoryDemocratic elections, Democratic government
Abstract
We have deficits of legitimacy, fairness, and equality after every Provincial election. The solution is Parliamentary PR, where each MLA casts a vote in proportion to the votes he or she gained at the previous election. [3 pages]

Submission Content
WHY WE NEED PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION


Summary

We have a deficit of legitimacy, a deficit of fairness, and a deficit of equality after every Provincial election. Proportional representation cures these ills. The best form of PR is Parliamentary Vote PR.


The Opponents

I was amused to read on the CA's website that Jim avowed that the only thing that he and Glen could agree on was that proportional representation was for losers. I was not surprised. Not only did Jim's statement not prove that PR is for losers, but it did prove that he and Glen are on the same page: "It's all about me, the politician. It's all about whether I win or lose." I could not disagree more. Elections and electoral systems are all about the citizens and their votes.

As in New Zealand, we will find the staunchest opponents to PR amongst the political elite, and the business elite who bankroll them and their campaigns. Power junkies and control freaks do not willingly turn over decision-making to the voters. It has been quiet so far. Expect a howl when you make your recommendations. No matter what you are throwing, you are throwing it into the fan.

It is equally important to bear in mind that fixing an electoral system does not fix everything. It is heartening to learn that after adopting MMP, the Kiwis still rank politicians with used car salesmen, when it comes to credibility.

The Deficit of Legitimacy

We have successful votes, and we have "wasted" votes. Wasted votes are votes that have not contributed to the election of a candidate. There are two kinds of wasted votes: votes cast for parties successful somewhere else; and votes cast for parties and independents not successful anywhere.

While voters who have cast successful votes are pleased, voters who have cast wasted votes become frustrated, cynical, and apathetic. These voters feel, quite rightly, that their views are not getting the voice and respect they deserve. Even the winners of the election suffer from a serious percentage of illigitimacy, the percentage of wasted votes.

In the landslide election of 2001, where the Liberals won 77 of 79 seats, there were over 672,000 wasted votes -- more than 42% of the total votes cast.

In the normal election of 1991, where the NDP won 39 of 75 seats, there were over 808,000 wasted votes -- more that 55% of the total votes cast.

In the contentious election of 1996, where the NDP won 39 of 75 seats, there were over 817,000 wasted votes -- nearly 52% of the total votes cast.

The magnitude of this waste is appalling. And the affront to legitimacy shocking. Like salmon trying to spawn, we waste about 50% of our votes in any given election. And every government is about 50% illegitimate. No wonder the voters get a little grumpy, Stephen Hume.

We need to refine our democracy and overcome this waste and deficit of legitimacy. We have to focus on the citizens' feelings and their votes, rather than on the successful candidates and their seats. We need to count all of the citizens' votes, both successful and unsuccessful, and make all those votes count on the floor of the Legislature -- no matter who wins the seat. Have the Party that won the most votes form the government. Take each Party's votes, divide them evenly amongst that Party's successful candidates, and let those MLA's vote their share of those citizens' votes in the Legislature. That would be Vote Proportional Representation, or Parliamentary Vote PR.

The Deficit of Fairness

We have warped election results which offend British Columbians' sense of fairness.

In the landslide election of 2001, the Liberals won nearly 40% more seats than their popular vote justified. And the NDP won some 19% less seats than their percentage of popular vote. The cumulative disproportionality, or deficit of fairness, then was about 59% in that "landslide".

In the more normal election of 1991, the NDP received over 27% more seats than they should have. And the Liberals and Socreds together were short more than 25% of the seats they should have had. The cumulative disproportionality was nearly 53%.

In the close and contentious election of 1996, the Liberals received the largest percentage of popular vote, but the NDP won the most seats and formed the government. Both the Liberals and NDP won more seats than their votes justified -- the Liberals, 2.18%; and the NDP,12.55%. The Reform and PDA came up short some 11% of the seats. The cumulative disproportionality in this close election was nearly 26%.

Like the deficit of legitimacy, the deficit of fairness is about 50% in most elections. So, results are half unfair, and voter cynicism is at least half justified. PR would fix it.

The Deficit of Equality

We have unequal voting power between urban and rural ridings. An urban riding might need five votes for every one vote needed in a rural riding to elect a candidate. Perhaps a land base adjustment to votes is needed for rural areas to offset the difference between what they contribute to the treasury and what they receive in return.

If we make every citizen's vote count on the Legislature floor, instead of counting seats, the problem of unequal voting power evaporates. And in the future, we would be able to increase the number of rural seats, so as to give the North the voice, influence, and service it deserves.

Our Reality

The roots of our problems lie in our conventions of translating votes into seats, assigning each seat a single vote, and having the Party that won the most seats form the government.

Our conventions grew out of convenience. In the olden days, voting was by public outcry (aye, nay,etc.). If they were not sure what the result was "by the sound of things", they had people "stand up and be counted". They did not care much about the exact count -- they just wanted to know who won. The same approach is still used today when it serves well enough. Counting was only done out of necessity. The notion of the popular vote is a fairly new idea from an historical perspective. But it matters a lot to us nowadays. Our old conventions do not stand up very well under scrutiny anymore. In a multiparty system that is ideologically polarized as it is here in BC, our old conventions give us illigitimate, unfair, and unequal election results. We need to alter our conventions. I propose Parliamentary Vote-based Proportional Representation. Vote PR.

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