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Submission WOOD-0331 (Online)

Submission ByDr & Mrs Peter & Ann Wood
AddressSouth Slocan, BC, Canada
Organization
Date20040507
CategoryElectoral system change
Abstract
Our strong preference is for a MMP -- Mixed Member Proportional Voting system, where voters have a chance of electing a member of their choice and/or the party of their choice. [1 page]

Submission Content
We would like to let the Citizens' Assembly know that our strong preference is for a MMP -- Mixed Member Proportional Voting system (following New Zealand's lead), where voters have a chance of electing a member of their choice and/or the party of their choice.

It's a reasonably simple system to use and likely to encourage more voters to cast their ballot, with the knowledge that their vote would count. Whereas, under our present system, many potential voters just don't bother to vote, as they figure that their vote will be wasted.  We see a MMP voting system as a good step towards a more democratic form of government where more voices can be heard, especially those of us who live in the rural areas of BC. We would like to feel that our vote counted. It will eliminate the current dominance of one-party majority governments, where one party can win a majority of the seats in the BC Legislature, even with a lower than the majority percentage of the vote, and the other parties not getting their fair share of seats or none at all, in spite of gaining a fair pecentage of the votes.

It could also lead to higher voter turnouts, more women being elected to parliament, parliaments that more acccurately reflect the voters' wishes, more effective and cooperative governments and stable legislation. It would probably avoid the violent swings and changes in the legislation from one government to another, when government departments are restructured and revamped and legislation changed. Long term planning is impossible and civil servants are fired, with the attendant loss of their knowledge and experience. This is a waste of time, energy, human effort, morale and resources.

The time has come in this 21st Century to take serious look at our governments and the way they are elected, and we wholeheartedly endorse the MMP system for BC. Let us take the lead in Canada on this.

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