Dear Editor:
Keith Baldrey is worried that first past the post will not win the electoral reform referendum to be held next year. He’s probably right to worry. According to a recent poll, two-thirds of British Columbians agree that we should adopt proportional representation. That’s because the current system has clearly shown itself to be sub-par over and over again.
Most people would agree that the number of seats each party wins should match the voter support for that party. A party that gets 20 per cent of the vote should win 20 per cent of the seats. If they do not, then those 20 per cent of voters are not fairly represented.
Our current system doesn’t work like that. The difference between the level of voter support and the number of seats that a party wins can be quite substantial. For instance, we regularly get majority governments that are based on 40 per cent of the vote, so this kind of distortion has big consequences.
Maybe that’s the reason most people think we should adopt a new system. That’s certainly the reason that first past the post should lose the referendum. It’s not because the government is “stacking the deck,” as Mr. Baldrey charges. It’s because voters recognize that the current voting system fails to get results that reflect our votes.
On the other hand, I guess defenders of the current system must like the fact that they can win a majority with only 40 per cent.
Iain Macanulty, Burnaby
