Democracy is an ideal, a fragile state that requires our ongoing attention in order to be preserved. It is a gift passed to us by our parents and grandparents, paid for by their blood and tears. Democracy has finally arrived after millennia of serfdom, dictatorship and slavery. Finally, we hold the privilege of voting for someone to represent us in government. Never before have we enjoyed this freedom. By voting, we demonstrate our willingness to uphold democracy. This, however, is only a beginning. Democracy has been an unfolding process conditioned and stabilized by history and tradition, but nevertheless aided and developed over time – the most recent advances, of course, being the extension of suffrage to women and the lower classes and all races.
Democracy is now ready for the next evolutionary stage, a state that has to do with how our votes are counted. Under our present voting rules, only votes for the winning candidate have the power to elect anyone. Second and third place finishers split up the remainder of the vote, thus making it very difficult to win a seat. This is a distortion created by the simple mechanics of the system and limits the competition in the riding. This condition limits the scope of political debate and erodes public support for democracy.
On election day, consider your ballot carefully. The decision you make will be your only input into the governance for the next four years. You get to place an X next to one of four or five candidates and that is your only option. If the candidate of your choice does not win, your vote does not provide you with representation in government. Now consider another kind of ballot. On this ballot, you may choose from one to nine or 10 candidates. There may be more than one candidate from each of the larger parties. You get to rank your choices, marking your first choice 1, one your second choice 2, and so on until you have ranked as many candidates as you wish, or all of them.
Under these new rules, voters will have far more influence. Representatives owe most of their allegiance to the voters back home in their district and less allegiance to the party, which, at present, determines how they will vote. Under this new system, a new political caucus may arise within the district with support from across party lines. With the proposed closing of a hospital, for instance, this new set of voting rules promises a fairer outcome, more consensual politics and a more stable government. The large-scale swings in policy that happen now when governments change will be no more; instead, policy will evolve more slowly and will be capable of responding to very long-term issues like global warming and social systems. Our present system is entrenched in a bipolar, left/right, conflict-based model, which cannot accommodate the political, social and cultural diversity of modern society. It is a 19th century artifact that has its roots in the earliest beginnings of democracy.
On May 12, a referendum on the provincial election ballot will ask you to choose between the present “First Past the Post” electoral system and a new system called BC-STV or the Single Transferable Vote. BC-STV is the recommendation of the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, a group of 160 of your peers, who were selected at random from the list of voters. After extensive study and consultation with the public, the Citizens’ Assembly designed and built a new voting system that belongs to the citizens of BC. This system is our system. On May 12, vote yes for BC-STV. It’s your system bought and paid for by you. It is your right, so take it. For more information on BC-STV or to volunteer, visit www.bc-stv.ca
– Tim Jones
