May 3, 2005
Kamloops Daily News



More than one million B.C. voters will be unhappy with the
results of the next election on May 17 because their vote
didn't count.  It doesn't have to be that way.

If the NDP wins, Liberals will be gloomy as they were in
1996.  In that election, more voters chose Liberal
candidates but the NDP formed the government.

If the Liberals win, NDP voters will be disgusted as they
were in 2001. Despite the fact that two out of every ten
voters voted for the NDP, they elected only two members.

If the Green Party doesn't elect anyone, they will feel
cheated.  Approximately one out of ten voters will vote for
the Green Party.

Given the problems with our voting current system, you might
think that all parties would be in favour of a better
system.  But they are surprisingly lukewarm.

None of the parties has come out in support of the
reasonable system recommended by the Citizens' Assembly on
Electoral Reform, called the B.C. Single Transferable Vote.

Not even the Liberals, and they were the ones who set up the
assembly.  Both local Liberal candidates oppose the STV. 
The B.C. NDP don't even mention electoral reform on their
web site, in spite of support from the national NDP.

The Green party says that local candidates can support it if
they want to but that's not an endorsement.  The Green party
has the most to gain from proportional representation, and
yet they are surprisingly ambivalent.  My guess is that the
proposed STV system is not their kind of proportional
representation, the one they promoted in 2002.

Local Green candidate Grant Fraser is in favour of the STV
but feels that the advertising campaign required to educate
voters is sadly underfunded.  "The Liberals appear to be
trying to kill the idea through neglect," Fraser says.

Political parties are understandably nervous about the STV
because it reduces the power of political parties.  Under
STV voters are given powers that parties now have, such as
the selection the local candidate. 

This represents a shift in power.  Under the current system,
parties hold power because they pick the candidates for each
riding.  If the candidate doesn't toe the party line, they
could be passed over for the candidate does.

Party politics rule.  We saw that kind of struggle between
the politics of conscience and party politics when Liberal
MLA Kevin Krueger tried to stop the expansion of gambling. 
His party didn't agree and he was essentially vetoed.  Many
voters agree with Krueger - - gambling is a dishonest way of
raising taxes.

Under STV, voters pick the party candidate from the ballot. 
As a result, candidates are obligated to voters.  If enough
candidates thought that gambling revenue was a mistake,
parties would more inclined to find a way to raise taxes
through honest methods.

There are two major objections to the STV.  One is that
ridings are too big.  But bigger ridings also means more
MLAs per riding.  That seems like an advantage to me.  If I
don't feel comfortable approaching one MLA with my problem,
I can go to another.

Another criticism of the STV system is that it results in
minority governments.  In order to govern, parties would
have to get along.  What a concept.  What a change from the
current bickering that makes a poor excuse for government. 
Stable governments could result from minority governments if
the power of party politics was reduced.  And with the fixed
election date, parties would be compelled to make government
work.

Majority governments are an illusion, anyway.   With few
exceptions, all B.C. governments have been elected by a
minority of the people.   The dubious advantage of the
current system is that voters only have to think about
political issues every four years.

STV has something for everyone, even the undecided voter. 
If you can't decide who to vote for, vote for everyone on
the ballot.  If you like one party but like the candidate
for another, vote for both.   If you don't like one party,
vote for everyone else.

This is a limited time offer.  The chance to change our
electoral system comes once in a lifetime, especially the
hands-off approach that the Liberals boldly took.   The
Citizens' Assembly came up with a system made by voters for
voters.

Don't let this chance to make history pass you by.

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