As the midterms approach, many American voters may be feeling disenchanted with American democracy. Some may wonder about the point of voting if politicians can gerrymander the districts and big donors can buy elections. While many can identify the bugs in the American system, voters might not know an upgrade is available. It’s called Proportional … Read more
Here in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbian voters will soon choose between two voting systems. Proportional Representation (ProRep), is a common form of voting in prosperous countries around the world. The main tenet is to give each group of voters fair representation in the legislature—the party balance in the legislature ends up looking like the … Read more
The politicians opposing British Columbia’s upcoming electoral reform measure are trying to frighten voters by telling them Proportional Representation (ProRep) makes ridings too big and breaks the local representation and accountability between voters and lawmakers. But the three ProRep options BC voters will see on their mail-in ballot weren’t just picked from a hat. And … Read more
In October 2018, BC voters will get a ballot asking them to choose between First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) and Proportional Representation (ProRep) voting methods. For some voters, this may be a new idea but it is one BC has considered for a long time. As early as the 1890s, voters were calling for ProRep. Voters usually become … Read more
In October, British Columbian voters will receive ballots asking them two questions. First, should BC use First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) voting or proportional representation (ProRep)? Second, if the province chooses ProRep, which of three systems do voters prefer: Dual Member Proportional, Mixed Member Proportional, or Rural-Urban PR? All three ProRep options follow a few ground rules: each … Read more
This year, Doug Ford, whose brand of right-wing populism has drawn comparison to US president Donald Trump, took control of the Ontario government. Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party took majority control of the government with a minority of the votes because Ontario, like British Columbia and other places in Canada and the United States, uses a … Read more
This fall, British Columbians will decide whether to switch to some form of proportional representation. It will be the third such referendum since 2005. This class of voting systems, locally known as ProRep or PR BC, better matches the share of a party’s seats with the amount of support it gets from voters. Some would … Read more
Maine Governor Paul LePage called ranked voting “the most horrific thing in the world” and said he would not certify Maine’s primary election, which used ranked ballots. In a world that includes genocide and poverty, not to mention deep fried twinkies, what could make LePage call ranked choice voting “the most horrific thing”? Well, ranked choice voting would have forced LePage … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This year, BC is ground zero for electoral reform in Cascadia. A fall referendum presents provincial voters with a major opportunity to update their system and make their voices heard and to introduce proportional representation (ProRep) to the big leagues on this continent. The choice BC voters will see on their mail-in ballot this fall is something like this: … Read more
As proportional representation attracts more interest—like in British Columbia, where voters will soon decide by referendum whether to adopt proportional representation (PR) for provincial elections—commentators like David Brooks trot out the false belief that proportional representation “allowed an extremist named Adolf Hitler to rise to power with the initial support of a tiny fraction of … Read more
