Submission PRATT-0801 (Online)
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| Submission By | Martin Pratt |
| Address | Victoria, BC, |
| Organization | |
| Date | 20040713 |
| Category | Electoral system change |
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Abstract
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The advantages and disadvantages of a mixed member system with
multimember districts and top-up seats to achieve party
proportionality. The top-up seats would be allocated to
the best losers of each party. [2 pages]
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Submission Content
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There would be multi-member ridings of 2 or 3, and one of 4 MLAs
depending on population density in the particular area.
People would cast a single vote for their favorite candidate in
their riding. 60% of the seats would be selected by
direct first past the post vote, and the other 40% would be
allocated to adjust for proportional party representation province
wide. The top up seats would not be decided from a
party list, but rather from which (as yet unelected) candidates in
that party got the most number of votes. Parties would
have to get at least 4% of the vote province wide in order to be
considered for "top up" seats.
To determine the ridings, first the number of ridings would be
reduced to 45 directly elected, 30 to achieve proportionality, for
75 total. Parties would only be allowed to run as many candidates
in each riding as will be elected directly. Each party
would be allowed to field an additional party list in the
(unlikely) event that they get more than 60% of the vote. Thus,
usually all MLAs would have a riding somewhere. Those elected on
the 40% top-up portion would not be required to represent
their specific jurisdiction. Most often
two-member ridings would have three MLA's from that riding, but
this would not be guaranteed.
Advantages:
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Proportional or near-proportional representation.
This in itself should result in higher voter turnout because people
would know that voting for a smaller party or a candidate that is
low in the polls isn't just throwing their vote away.
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Avoids the excessive party politics of party lists.
Because of candidates in big parties having to campaign against
someone(s) in their own party as well as other parties; and because
each riding would often be represented by two or even three
parties, it should lead to livelier, and more broad ranging
debates. Hopefully the candidates would be more
responsive to their voters, since they would be campaigning
individually as well as with their party.
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Simple voting procedure
Disadvantages:
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Voters in low-voter turnout areas within the larger ridings
would be more underrepresented
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Because of the law of averages, a higher proportion than
population of the secondary seats could end up coming from the
larger, more urban ridings. This is especially true
because the smaller ridings in rural areas mean that each vote
there goes farther currently. If you wanted to keep
this advantage, you could count the votes for extra seats
proportionally weighted to all of the votes cast in their
riding.
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Larger ridings, especially in low-population areas, would mean
less guarantee of local representation, and that the 2
representatives would have to travel large distances to reach all
of their constituents.
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