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A Cole’s Notes version of the facts
Letter to the Editor
Good gracious, could someone please help out poor (Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA) Doug Clovechok! He’s is clearly befuddled about this fall’s pro rep referendum, despite Elections BC communicating the info at a Grade 4-5 level.
Voters will want to check out more reliable sources, since almost every sentence in his MLA report (including the system descriptions) is wildly inaccurate. Frankly, I’m a bit worried about Clovechok’s comprehension skills.
Here’s a Cole’s Notes version of the facts:
All three systems on question two of the ballot preserve local representation. Under DMP, two neighbouring ridings (not several!) would be merged, and voters would elect two MLAs jointly as their local reps. Under MMP and the rural portion of Rural-Urban, voters would elect one local MLA and a team of regional ones. Under the urban component of Rural-Urban (in geographically small but densely populated ridings), two to seven ridings would be merged and voters would elect that many local MLAs collectively, using a ranked ballot. All MLAs would serve their specific geographic area, just as now.
Under none of the scenarios would a MLA be more likely to live outside the riding she/he represents than now. All the systems allow for MLAs to have their names on the ballot, just like now (no one is advocating for a “party vote”). None of the MLAs would be appointed – all would be elected as now and voters would know in advance who will represent them from each party if that party earns seats. The party nomination process that applies now would continue apply under pro rep: the party decides which name goes on the ticket.
Two of the systems, MMP and RUP, even offer voters choices between MLAs of the same party, meaning that sitting MLAs might have some competition – no wonder some of them are nervous!
The fact is that under pro rep, far more voters would end up with a MLA who shares their priorities, and the Legislature would be a far more accurate reflection of voter intentions.
The end result is more, not less, effective local representation. But it also means that MLAs from parties that are regionally overrepresented due to the distortions of First-Past-the-Post will lose some of their traditionally safe seats, since every party will win seats according to their share of the popular vote.
It’s no wonder that politicians who have benefited from the current system are doing all they can to prevent us from upgrading.
I encourage voters to arm themselves with accurate information from the Elections BC website or the Fair Vote Canada website. After that, perhaps someone can volunteer to get poor Mr. Clovechok up to speed?
Gisela Ruckert
Team Leader, Fair Vote Kamloops
& President, Fair Vote Canada BC