Editor: Being acutely aware that the parties I have voted for in past years are seriously under-represented in the Legislature and the House of Commons under a First-Past-the-Post system, I was disappointed when the referendum for Single Transferable Vote (STV) failed in
2005, and I am increasingly disappointed reading letters to the editor opposing it, from people I would expect to be in favour of it.
I tried to think of someone with a long background in political history, who would be familiar enough with various voting systems to have a valid opinion on the issue. It didn't take long until noted historian, David Mitchell, came to mind.
I wrote to him and he was kind enough to send me his
opinion, as follows: "The BCSTV proposal is, in my view, an honest attempt to establish in B.C. a more representative electoral system. It may not be perfect - and no system is - but, if implemented, there is no doubt that it would allow for a more representative legislature.
The existing electoral system (first-past-the-post) is, in fact, quite undemocratic. Governments can be elected with strong majorities in the legislature, with much less than 50 per cent of the votes cast in a general election."
Based on the opinion of David Mitchell and the fact that the STV system, if successfully voted in this time, will be revisited after three elections with "citizensinvolved in the review" (p 4 of the Citizens Assembly Technical Report), I will vote in favour of STV with confidence. For more about David Mitchell, got to
www.ppforum.ca/people/president.
Carolann Glover
Roberts Creek
