|
Related links
This page offers links to websites related to electoral reform
and electoral studies.
The research staff at the Citizens' Assembly did not endorse the
following organizations and websites. However, these
websites are useful to illustrate some of the issues that were
considered by the Citizens' Assembly.
Since the Assembly now has disbanded, we can no longer accept
nominations for links to be added to this page.
Electoral System - General
-
Administration and Cost of Elections (ACE)
Project: This website is a large compendium of
information on elections and electoral systems around the world www.aceproject.org/main/english/index.htm
-
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's Module on
Parliamentary Democracy: Study guide offering
information, learning objectives, study questions, and resources
for gaining knowledge about Parliamentary Democracy.
Includes units on the Westminster Model, branches of government,
Role of Parties and electoral systems.
www.athabascau.ca/govn/parliamentary_democracy/index1.html
-
Election Resources on the Internet: links to websites
around the world which provide complete and detailed national and
local election statistics, as well as other election resources. www.electionresources.org/
-
Electoral Systems: Essay by Brian O'Neal, Political and
Social Affairs Division of the Parliamentary Research Branch.
Covers the importance of electoral systems, the mechanics of a
variety of electoral systems, relative strengths and weaknesses of
electoral systems and referendums on change to electoral
systems.
www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/bp334-e.htm
-
International Foundation for Election Systems: A
non-profit NGO, IFES provides expert technical assistance in all
areas of election administration and election management. Involved
in interesting projects and offers a well organized links page. www.ifes.org/
-
Nelson Thompson - Electoral Systems: Online resources
that explain different electoral systems as well as links to
election results in many countries. polisci.nelson.com/electsys.html
-
South Australia State Electoral Office: "How Your Vote
Counts" is an animated presentation which explains the
history of voting, the various voting methods and their advantages
and disadvantages. Flash plug-in required (version 3 or
later). http://www.seo.sa.gov.au/flash.htm
-
The Keele Guide To Elections And Electoral Systems On The
Internet: Keele University’s School Of Politics,
International Relations & The Environment. Focus on Electoral
Systems, Elections and Electoral Data. www.keele.ac.uk/depts/por/elections.htm
British Columbia
-
Elections BC: This is the official website
for Elections BC with excellent current and historical information
on elections in the Province since 1870. www.elections.bc.ca/elections/elections-results.htm
-
Electoral Change Coalition of British
Columbia: This body in interested in changing the
electoral system for BC and attempts to show what the results of
elections in BC would have been if past elections had been run
under different systems. www.mala.bc.ca/~westj/ECCO/survey.htm
-
Vancouver Electoral Reform Commission: The Commissioner's
report recommended that the City should let citizens have a say.
OnOctober 16, 2004 a
vote will be held will be held about whether there
should be a change from the at-large system to a ward system, and
whether to increase the number of Councillors from 10 to 14. City
Council would then consider the results of the vote and decide
whether or not to change the system. www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/erc/
Other provinces
-
For a look at Canadian electoral reform initiatives, you might
like to check out a report,
First Past the Post? Progress Report on Electoral Reform
Initiatives in Canadian Provinces, (September 2004)
from Henry Milner, a researcher at the Institute for Research in
Public Policy and chair of Canadian studies at the University of
Paris.
-
New Brunswick has a commission at work with a mandate to
work towards proportionality and proportional
representation. www.gnb.ca/0100/index-e.asp
-
Prince Edward Island is considering recommendations from
a judge and a form of citizens' assembly in its electoral reform
initiative. www.gov.pe.ca/electoralreform/index.php3
-
Quebec has a Secretariat for the Reform of Democratic
Institutions in progress. www.mce.gouv.qc.ca/srid/index_en.htm
-
Ontario is looking at electoral reform, and is
considering B.C.'s Citizens' Assembly model as a
tool. www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/drs/
-
The Yukon has appointed a special adviser, who is
monitoring the B.C. Citizens' Assembly. www.gov.yk.ca/news/2004/jan/04-007.pdf
Canada
-
Citizen Engagement in Voting System Reform: a plan for 21st
century democratic renewal in Canada. Written by Larry Gordon
in July 2002 for the Law Commission of Canada. www.lcc.gc.ca/en/themes/gr/er/Gordon/toc_main.asp
-
Law Commission of Canada - Voting Counts: Electoral Reform
for Canada. This is the final report of
the Law Commission of Canada on the Canadian electoral system: it
recommends a mixed member proportional electoral system for
Canadian elections.
www.lcc.gc.ca/en/themes/gr/er/er_report/er_report_toc.asp
-
MapleLeafWeb - Electoral Reform: A guide to
electoral systems in general and Canadian electoral
reform.
www.mapleleafweb.com/features/electoral/electoral.htm
-
A CBC News mini-documentary on electoral systems
(including a brief look at the Citizens' Assembly) can be
found here. (You'll need Real Player to view the
11-minute video. You can get a
free download of Real Player, for Windows, Mac and other
systems.)
Other Countries
-
Australian Government and Politics: A database
of parties, elections, governments and representation for
Australian state and federal parliaments since 1890. Excellent
searchability and glossary. elections.uwa.edu.au/
-
Changing Democracy: A website built by Ed Watson, CTV's
bureau chief in Victoria, after a special tour of New Zealand to
examine the Kiwi experience with electoral reform, and the lessons
learned. www.jackwebster.com/vote/index.htm
-
Changed Voting Changed Politics: Lessons of Britain's
Experience of PR since 1997: A report by Britians' Independent
Commission on Proportional Representation that reviews Britain's
experience of PR voting systems, released March 2004. www.prcommission.org/index.htm
-
Elections And Electoral Systems Around the World: This is
an index of electoral websites from a large number of the
world’s countries. Updated often. www.psr.keele.ac.uk/election.htm
-
Elections around the world: Statistics and detailed
information about parliaments around the world, electoral calendar
and parties on the web. www.electionworld.org/
-
Irish Online Electoral Database: This site
has a very nifty way of showing how the single transferable vote
system works in Ireland. election.polarbears.com/online/da2002.htm
-
New Zealand Election: 27 July 2002 (report from the
Australian Parliamentary Research Service): This is a
handy two page summary of the last election and the effects of a
mixed member proportional system on the governmental system in New
Zealand. www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn09.pdf
-
The Jenkins Report: More
officially, The Report of the Independent Commission on
the Voting System, established by the British government in 1997.
Its terms of reference included: "The Commission shall observe the
requirement for broad proportionality, the need for stable
Government, an extension of voter choice and the maintenance of a
link between MPs and geographical constituencies."
www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm40/4090/contents.htm
Submissions
-
Many of the submissions to the Citizens' Assembly offer
insightful links and articles to download.
View the Submissions.
Societies
-
The Electoral Reform Society in Britain is a membership
organisation that campaigns for improvements in democracy,
particularly through the use of better voting systems. The Society
openly has a preference: the Single Transferable Vote (STV). www.electoral-reform.org.uk/
-
Fair Voting BC is a society seeking to change BC’s
voting system to include proportionality. FVBC is somewhat "on
hold" pending the outcome of the Citizens' Assembly. www.fairvotingbc.com
-
Fair Vote Canada is a multi-partisan campaign for a "fair"
voting system. It held its first national conference in March 2001.
www.fairvotecanada.org/fvc/
Youth voting organizations
-
Get Your Vote
On is a province-wide, non-partisan project that is
focused on getting youth out to vote in the upcoming
British Columbia election. Their message is one
of youth engagement, voter empowerment and issues
education. The project will educate and encourage young people that
their voice matters and that voting is an essential part of being a
citizen.
-
Student Vote
2004 is a Canada-wide initiative working
to build a habit of electoral and community participation among
students through the operation of student elections that parallel
the federal election.
-
Democracy
Project Check Your Head is encouraging youth to get
involved in their democracy
-
Rush the Vote is a
national organization dedicated to increasing youth voter turnout
and political awareness through music and education.
-
Elections Canada: Young Voters Encourages young adults to speak
their mind through the ballot and get their
voice heard.
-
The 20
000 project An online petition for young women: “As
one of the 2.5 million young women in Canada between the ages of 18
and 30, I pledge to make my voice heard by excercising my right to
vote in the next federal election.”
-
YOUCAN (Youth Canada
Association) hosted Ready, Set, Vote in
September 2003 to discuss barriers youth face in the
area of democratic participation. Get
the report online.
-
Kids Voting
Canada: A non-partisan, educational
initiative building a habit of electoral and community
participation among students in Grades 9-12 through the operation
of parallel student elections during official election periods.
RE: THE REFERENDUM
-
STVforBC, a "community" site
promoting the BC-STV system in the referendum vote on May 17,
2005
|
|