MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION ADDITIONAL VOTERS IF CANADA SWITCHED TO PR

MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION ADDITIONAL VOTERS IF CANADA SWITCHED TO PR - May 26, 2004

May 26, 2004

Fair Vote Canada today called on all federal parties to support a referendum on a more proportional voting system to help combat decreasing voter turnout.

"The current voting system wastes millions of votes, distorts results, creates phony majority governments, produces a huge portion of safe ridings, stifles political competition, and forces many voters to cast strategic rather than sincere votes," said Fair Vote Canada president Doris Anderson. "And we wonder why Canadians are walking away? We wonder why three-quarters of young Canadians are not bothering to vote?"

Canada now has far more people not voting than voting for the winning party. In the last federal election, 39 per cent of eligible voters did not vote, compared to 25 per cent who voted for the Liberals. Twenty years ago, the situation was the reverse, with 37 per cent of eligible voters voting for the winning party, compared to only 25 per cent who did not vote.

In the 1990s, Canada ranked 109th among countries in voter turnout.

Many short-term factors affect turnout (weather, controversial issues, charismatic leaders), but the voting system pre-determines for many whether it is worthwhile to cast a ballot. In proportional voting systems, almost every vote counts. For example, in the last New Zealand election, 95% of voters were able to help elect an MP, compared to only 52% in the last Canadian election. Proportional voting systems are fairer to all parties, which means the Greens, who appeal to many youth, Liberals in the West and Conservatives in Ontario and Quebec can all elect MPs.

A landmark international study examining major democracies, comparing voter turnout over a 25 year period, concluded countries with proportional systems do have higher turnouts (Arend Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy, 1999, p. 285). If Canada experienced the average higher turnout identified in that study, from switching to a proportional system, more than 1.5 million more Canadians would be casting votes.