Change on the wind.
A certain friend of mine has brought to the forefront a very important topic: BC's electoral reform.
But it wasn't until I read his blog entry that I realized I couldn't be typically apathetic and assume that my fellow BC-ites were all well-informed, progressive, rational people with the will to realize change.
This is an incredible opportunity we have as the first district in Canada to move away from the stodgy First-Past -the-Post system that we have lived with for so long, and that has created the large-party politics that so many Canadians have grown dissatisfied with. How many times do I hear a compatriate grumble: "Why bother voting? They're all the same!" or "Who cares? Nothing ever changes!"
And they're mostly right. It takes an ice-age for new ideas to filter through our lumbering political system. New, progressive parties are squelched or marginalized because, although they may have great ideas or a fresh perspective, no-one will dare vote for them because everyone is too afraid to let paty X (whichever party they hate) in to power.
On May 17th we happy British Columbians get to vote, not just on our traditional provincial overseers, but also on the future of the electoral process (and thus the future of our very lives) in British Columbia. The Citizens Assembly has recommended moving to the BC-STV system, and I will be voting for this change for the better.
But don't let lack of understanding slant your opinion - this gives a fairly good description of the process.
But it wasn't until I read his blog entry that I realized I couldn't be typically apathetic and assume that my fellow BC-ites were all well-informed, progressive, rational people with the will to realize change.
This is an incredible opportunity we have as the first district in Canada to move away from the stodgy First-Past -the-Post system that we have lived with for so long, and that has created the large-party politics that so many Canadians have grown dissatisfied with. How many times do I hear a compatriate grumble: "Why bother voting? They're all the same!" or "Who cares? Nothing ever changes!"
And they're mostly right. It takes an ice-age for new ideas to filter through our lumbering political system. New, progressive parties are squelched or marginalized because, although they may have great ideas or a fresh perspective, no-one will dare vote for them because everyone is too afraid to let paty X (whichever party they hate) in to power.
On May 17th we happy British Columbians get to vote, not just on our traditional provincial overseers, but also on the future of the electoral process (and thus the future of our very lives) in British Columbia. The Citizens Assembly has recommended moving to the BC-STV system, and I will be voting for this change for the better.
But don't let lack of understanding slant your opinion - this gives a fairly good description of the process.
6 Comments:
I take issue with the lingering notion that "it takes an ice age for new ideas to filter through our lumbering political system".
This is not true.
What do you make of the seismic shakes that created the Reform Party, PQ, ADQ, BC Liberals, Social Credit, CCF, NDP, etc. etc.? Did I dream these events up? No - they happened within our current lumbering system. New ideas and new parties get created constantly. The system works. Q.E.D.
I stand by my original assessment and encourage you to vote NO to the the BC-STV system.
The STV system sounds good in principle, but after reading the literature on it, I'm not so impressed. I don't like the idea of arcane, mathemagical quotas being used to determine who wins a riding, nor do I like the implication that votes beyond the minimum number needed to elect a candidate are "wasted" in the present system. BC already has a reputation of being the wacky province, and switching electoral systems would only make us seem that much more eccentric to the rest of Canada. Anyway, majority governments are desirable; wacky fringe parties getting seats are not. I say if the system ain't broke, there's no need to fix it.
I will comment merely to encourage Sir Patttterrrsssonn of Rogertown to continue in this unprecedented streak of posting once in a single day. Well done!!
I like the idea of a system that allowed for a more "proportional" representation but right now that would mean several extra NDP MLAs and I'm against anything that gives those nitwits a better chance at power.
But, I am a strong support of Patttttersssson posts!
Thank you Glennson. And yeah, I know it would mean more of the dreaded NDP, but one should not only like a system when it benefits them. It will see us through the bad times too.
As for Snowy and his blind blatherings. I don't think you know what "Seismic" means, unless earthquakes generally take 50 years to occur. But nice job making an impressively long list of parties, most of which are the same party, just under different names: NDP/CCF, SoCred/BC Liberals. Parties changing names every 20 years doesn't constitute change.
I think you'll find that there have actually only been 2 different parties running this country since 1867 (and no, I don't count name changes / mergers). The only different ideological parties on the federal scene in the last 140 years were the CCF and the Reform (PQ, ADQ? - get serious). And both inevitably morphed into the Borg-like mold of the two big-parties.
I also don't think you know what "Q.E.D." means, because you've proved nothing.
Roggles wins the argument because he said "Borg-like mold"!! Q.E.D.
I actually took the time to go and look into the STV and I must say, I'm not a moron...but I am confused.
What the fuck kind of system is that? It looks like some folks vote would get counted about a jillion times whereas if you vote for the person who gets just enough votes to not quite get elected your vote only gets counted once.
Surplus votes?
I don't think that a voting system should require quite so many machinations in order for it to produce winners. I'm a complicated man but I like simple voting systems, you scratch your X into one box and the dufum (plural of dufus I think) count the Xs beside a candidate's name. Simple.
I don't think I trust Thelma from Port Alberni to do fractions and such...
Down with STV!!!
But still, up with Roggles.
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