Study Shows Nova Scotia Elections Waste a Majority of Votes
July 09, 2003
July 9, 2003
STUDY SHOWS NOVA SCOTIA ELECTIONS WASTE A MAJORITY OF VOTES
According to a study of provincial elections between 1980 - 2000 conducted by Fair Vote Canada, more than half of the votes cast (50.2%) by Nova Scotians did not produce political representation for those voters. During the period of the study, only Ontario voters were less likely than Nova Scotians to be represented as they wished.
"Political scientists call these `wasted votes', which are a result of our widely discredited winner-take-all voting system," explained Larry Gordon, executive director of Fair Vote Canada. "Under our current voting system, the only voters who win political representation are those who support the most popular candidate in their riding. Winner-take-all is just what it says. One group of voters wins the right to representation, while the others lose that right. That obviously contradicts the whole idea of representative democracy, which is why most major democracies ditched this type of voting system between 50 and 100 years ago."
The current voting system also frequently creates phony majority governments, in which one party wins a majority of seats without winning a majority of the popular vote. The 54 provincial elections between 1980 - 2000 produced 33 phony majority governments. The last Nova Scotia election was a classic case, where the voting system allowed the PCs to win a majority of seats with only 39% of the popular vote.
"Other provinces are already moving forward on voting reform," stated Gordon. "British Columbia is convening a citizens' assembly on voting system reform and will likely hold a referendum on a new system in May 2005. PEI has appointed a commissioner to consider alternatives such as proportional representation. Premier Charest has already announced he will introduce a more proportional voting system for Quebec, a move supported by all three parties. In the recent election, Premier Lord promised to study proportional representation. With an election pending in Ontario, both opposition parties support a referendum process on voting system reform."
[ This Message was edited by: admin on 2003-07-17 16:36 ]