First-past-the-post democracy is “an embarrassment,” Rick Salutin writes in the Globe, and a Yes vote in the Ontario referendum on mixed-member proportional representation is a “no-brainer.” Perhaps his uniquely dystopic view of the province provides a window into his thinking on the matter: a “whirligig of instability,” it is, with “vanishing industries, degraded services, disruptive strikes, [and] fractured communities,” all thanks to “arrogant behaviour by governments that didn’t represent the majority.” Gadzukes – yes on MMP it is!
I consider a “Yes” in Ontario’s coming referendum on voting reform to be a no-brainer. That’s because the process we have isn’t very democratic. In fact, it’s undemocratic, due to the stupid system known as first past the post. If there are four candidates in your riding, and one gets 10 votes and the rest each get nine, Mr. 10 wins the pot and gets to be in office, although 73 per cent of voters didn’t choose him. There’s no runoff or resolution, it just stops there.
The referendum issue requires 60% majority of 60% of voter turnout. Ontario elections have rarely reached a 67% voter turnout, more usually in the lower to middle 50 percentile. Unless there is some issue that heats up soon, perhaps the funding of religious schools, I suspect the referendum won’t pass.
Good cartoon, I’ll have to study up on my Canadian civics in order to understand it.
From Maclean’s Megapundit on Rick Salutin’s inaccessible article at the Globe And Mail:
http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20070921_120456_5820
First-past-the-post democracy is “an embarrassment,” Rick Salutin writes in the Globe, and a Yes vote in the Ontario referendum on mixed-member proportional representation is a “no-brainer.” Perhaps his uniquely dystopic view of the province provides a window into his thinking on the matter: a “whirligig of instability,” it is, with “vanishing industries, degraded services, disruptive strikes, [and] fractured communities,” all thanks to “arrogant behaviour by governments that didn’t represent the majority.” Gadzukes – yes on MMP it is!
More:
Ontario’s no-brainer referendum
RICK SALUTIN
From Friday’s Globe and Mail
I consider a “Yes” in Ontario’s coming referendum on voting reform to be a no-brainer. That’s because the process we have isn’t very democratic. In fact, it’s undemocratic, due to the stupid system known as first past the post. If there are four candidates in your riding, and one gets 10 votes and the rest each get nine, Mr. 10 wins the pot and gets to be in office, although 73 per cent of voters didn’t choose him. There’s no runoff or resolution, it just stops there.
Sounds like the winner take all system we have here, which stinks.
The referendum issue requires 60% majority of 60% of voter turnout. Ontario elections have rarely reached a 67% voter turnout, more usually in the lower to middle 50 percentile. Unless there is some issue that heats up soon, perhaps the funding of religious schools, I suspect the referendum won’t pass.
Andrew Coyne, certainly a conservative voice, in the National Post:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/columnists/story.html?id=dc8e6351-6f1e-47f2-84a9-979e896cd862&p=1
“The winner is not the candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast, but simply the one who comes in first place”