Referendum asks voters to consider electoral system
By Rana Nabil Diab
Lance Writer
October 3, 2007
The Oct. 10 provincial election will not only ask Ontarians to select a new MPP, but also to vote on a referendum that could lead to an overhaul of the current electoral system.
The referendum question, proposed by Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, requires voters to decide whether the current First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system should be eliminated in favour of a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system.
Under the current system, citizens are given one vote to choose a candidate for the provincial legislature. The candidate with the most votes will become the representative for the electoral district. After the election, the political party that wins the most electoral districts is asked to form a government.
If the MMP system comes into effect, future elections will ask Ontarians to vote for both a local member and a political party. In each of Ontario’s 107 electoral districts, one vote would be used to elect a local member using the FPTP system. The candidate with the most votes in an electoral district wins. The other vote for a political party determines the number of list members each party receives. The political party with the largest number of seats in the legislature, including local members and list members, is asked to form a government.
Essentially, in the MMP system, a political party’s overall share of seats will roughly equal its share of the total votes for parties in the province.
With election day nearing, Communication Studies professor, James Winter, said it’s a “no-brainer,” when asked how Ontarians should vote. Winter stated, “Other countries have realized that [FPTP] is a lousy system because they are more democratic and because their people have insisted on this system. Changing the existing system would give a better chance to small parties.”
Although he favours the MMP electoral system, Winter pessimistically added, “It’s not going to pass…the standards are too high. By setting it at 60 per cent, [the government] is saying that even if 59 per cent of Ontario’s citizens say yes to the change, it still won’t be constituted.”
Political Science professor, Dr. Lloyd Brown-John, presented a different view of the issue. In his editorial in the Windsor Star, the professor warned of the dangers of the referendum when he stated, “Reducing a very complex issue to a single question to which a voter can respond with a “Yes” or a “No” is far from a transparent or simple exercise.”
Knowing that university students may be unfamiliar with the referendum, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), under the recommendation of 35 student unions, launched a campaign called Change the System, which advocates the MMP system.
“Thanks to this campaign, there have been panels organized on this issue. I think students are informed about [the referendum]. There is definitely more interest in part of students,” said Dave Molenhuis, Ontario representative for CFS.
Encouraging students to educate themselves on the topic, Molenhuis stated that the current system is “outdated.” “[The electoral system] goes back to when only white…men could vote. I would be shocked if we miss out on this opportunity [to change the system].”
While most students on campus know about the upcoming election, some are still unaware of the referendum.
“I don’t know about the referendum,” admitted third-year industrial engineering student, Syed Rakiul Huq.
“I’ve seen lawn signs and stuff but I don’t know much about the referendum, I heard about it though,” added Val Bana Alaa, a third-year chemistry student.
Maya Jolani, a second year business student, expressed, “I don’t know if I’m going to vote, I don’t really understand what we’re voting for.”
Anyone needing more information about the referendum can visit www.yourbigdecision.ca.
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