Vote swapping goes west
Pair Vote is back for the provincial election in British Columbia!! The great success and positive momentum gained in the federal election has spurred us on to continue this movement until a true democratic system is created. We have decided to come back to support the provincial election as well as the vote for BC-STV .
Pair Vote evolved to meet the needs of Canadian voters. Until a truly democratic system is created to elect our officials we will continue to match voters to get your votes to count.
The voting system is the heart of representative democracy. It’s the tool citizens use to create government by the people, for the people, of the people.
A good voting system gives every citizen an equal vote. When every citizen’s vote has equal value, then parliaments can reflect the political will of the people. If the voting system ignores or distorts what voters say, then democracy is compromised. Parliaments are not representative and governments cannot be properly accountable.
This is the core problem with the Canadian political system. Our 21st century democracy is hobbled with a dysfunctional 12th century voting system.
Does this describe your situation this election?
- You are convinced the person or party representative you want to vote for won’t get elected
- You are tired of your vote not being represented in parliament
- You want to do something about it
Then consider pairing your vote with someone in another riding where you *could* make a difference. Pair voting has been going in the U.S. since the 2000 election.
Here is how it works:
1. You go to www.pairvote.ca to register , stating your name, riding, preferred party to vote for, and other parties you are willing to vote for.
Example:
Name: Joe Smith
Riding: Chilliwack
My preferred party: Green
I am willing to vote for NDP, Liberal
2. Later on, you will be paired up with someone in a riding where your Green vote has a better chance of making a difference. You’ll have time to talk with this person and decide if you want to go ahead with pairing up your vote.
It’s easy to do and it’s legal. Yes, it’s also ridiculous that voters have to jump through hoops to sometimes make their vote count.
Filed under: BC 2009
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