Election Overhaul - does Canada need one?

[steven lloyd]

A democracy is only that if the people chose to be involved. Do you really want someone who can't be bothered to participate now having a larger influence on those that do?

I absolutely agree that a democracy is only that if the people chose to be involved. For the vast majority of us though, outside of voting and these non-productive discussions on these threads, greater involvement than that is not going to happen. For most us regular folks with lives and careers, etc., voting is about as close to actually participating in the democratic process as we will get – and only a relatively small percentage of us will consciously and deliberately allow our preconceived notions to be challenged and even be willing to change our minds when we are considering who (or what party) to vote for.

You start by suggesting individual votes have little effect on the outcome of an election, and then you ask if we want individuals who previously couldn’t be bothered to vote having a greater influence than those who do. There seems to be some contradiction in these two points, but my simple answer to your last question is that I want a shake-up to the status quo. Should I be more concerned about voters who previously couldn’t be bothered to vote having a greater influence than those who do? I think I am more concerned that our elections are being decided by those who are rigid and closed in their thinking, have formed their opinion from rhetoric and stereotype (and are quite happy with that) and object to challenging the status quo. A small group of people have a vested interest in maintaining the current system and they depend on their partisan loyalties. I don’t know if forced voting is the answer or if it will even work, but I do believe that what we have now is not the best the rest of us should settle for.

[steven lloyd]

No offence to anyone (in particular) - I'm one of those Ancient Old Farts that believes my right to vote is a privilege as a Canadian AND my responsibility and duty as a citizen of my Community.

I also am one (closing in on old fart status) who believes that rights and freedoms come with responsibility,
as does the privilege of being able to live in and benefit from being a part of this collective.

[John500]

The question is "Does Canada needs an election overhaul."
As long as the present system allows a minority to govern as a majority, the answer is yes. Its that simple.

[Symbonite]

Exactly.....when you have 2 parties that for the sake of voting against the majority to block whatever even if they don't agree with things between themselves..then there is something wrong...


Either that or blame Christy Clark.

[Woodenhead]

I haven't been bothered to vote lately because I hate the system, not because I am not aware of the issues, don't have opinions, etc. I am tempted to vote in teh next fed election, however, if it means my vote may actually lead to an overhaul. Otherwise, status quo = leave me out of it. I'll vote with my influence instead, rather than a mere piece of paper.

Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only feebly expressing to men your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men.
Cast your whole vote, not a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence.

[goatboy]

My point of your vote not really being meaningful is somewhat fecitious, however, a lot,of,people,do vote because it makes them feel that they are at least part of the process . Forcing people to vote will only further muddy an already dirty process at the end of the day just means more votes to count. I'm not informed enough to really know the answer but I would imagine some system that incorporates a coalition government may be the way to go. Gives no one party ultimate power, forces compromise across numerous party lines and should build a consensus government. It could also create grid lock where nothing gets done and you are continually at the polls. Japan and Israel come to mind.

[Woodenhead]

:)

Regarding mandatory voting: it seems to me to be a minor issue; we're debating about what to do with the mosquito in the room, when we really should be concerning ourselves with the crouching tiger in the corner instead.

I'm unsure as to what the ideal voting/government system would be. What I am 100% sure of is that our current system is far from ideal, so we should be constantly striving to improve it in any way that we can.

[Lady tehMa]

We do need an overhaul.

I'd like to be able to vote for someone regionally, and nationally. They may not be the same party. I'd like to see the rural vote equal the urban vote. I don't favour mandatory voting though, I'd rather the people who vote are the people who care enough to do it; they'll research and consider candidates. I'm afraid pushing through mandatory voting will lead to more of a roulette aspect to our elections.

[steven lloyd]

…, I'd rather the people who vote are the people who care enough to do it; they'll research and consider candidates. I'm afraid pushing through mandatory voting will lead to more of a roulette aspect to our elections.

The people who do vote certainly are the ones that care enough to do it, but that does not necessarily mean they have taken the time to research the candidates or, even more importantly, critically and objectively consider the issues. Posts on these boards clearly indicate just how strong and prevalent partisanship and rigid ideological perspectives influence voting. I'm not decided on the issue but mandatory voting may at least inspire some people to start engaging in a discussion of the issues, and some may enter the process with less rigid preconceptions. Even if that was something that occurred over time, in the meantime we might have better outcomes with the roulette approach. Couldn’t be worse than another Harper majority.

I'd like to be able to vote for someone regionally, and nationally. They may not be the same party.

I'd like to look at the idea of voting for our local representative, and then voting separately for our Prime Minister.
I guess that might be something like what you are saying? If so I am on board with that.

[Woodenhead]

The people who do vote certainly are the ones that care enough to do it, but that does not necessarily mean they have taken the time to research the candidates or, even more importantly, critically and objectively consider the issues. Posts on these boards clearly indicate just how strong and prevalent partisanship and rigid ideological perspectives influence voting.

Exactly this. The vast majority really don't consider things in an unbiased fashion; such folks are no better than those who have no faith in the system.

[Lady tehMa]

I'd like to look at the idea of voting for our local representative, and then voting separately for our Prime Minister.
I guess that might be something like what you are saying? If so I am on board with that.

Yes, that is what I'm saying. It is entirely possible to support a candidate at the local level while not supporting the Federal leader of that same party. I would like to be able to vote in a way that reflects this.

[Glacier]

What you are talking about is a system more like the American one where you vote for the executive branch (president, prime minister/PMO, Governor, Premier, etc.) and the legislative branch of government (Congress, Parliament, Legislature, etc.). In Canada we do not vote directly for the executive (PM) or the head of state (Queen), and I think it's good to have an apolitical head of state because she can represent all of us irrespective of our political leanings.

As for the idea of electing the head of the government, I think it's a good idea because the media whoring at election time is so intensely fixated on the party leaders that all but the most die hard politically astute Canadians (you know, like the ones who post on web forums) don't even realize until election day that they have to vote for a local representative. If the media were more localized, and spent more time on local issues and local candidates, the sure, our system would work great, but as it stands now, it isn't working very well.

[maryjane48]

looks like chongs bill passed lmao now party mps can vote to boot the leader out of their own party