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Tom Monto

1921 UFA victory - how the Farmers had majority support without a majority of the votes

Updated: Jan 8, 2023


The 1921 UFA victory is usually described as a wrong-winner government - the charge made that the Liberals received more votes than the UFA but the UFA took a majority of the seats in the legislature.


It is true that the Liberals did receive more votes than the UFA. Across the province, the Liberals received 15,000 more votes than the UFA.


But the UFA had the support of more voters than the Liberals. The election was not a wrong-winner government.


The Block Voting system gave more votes to each city voter than it gave to rural residents and the UFA mostly did not run in the Block Voting city districts.


So the true amount of parties' support has never been calculated -- and without reference to the actual ballots cannot be calculated.


We don't know how many of the Edmonton residents gave at least one of their five votes to the five Liberal candidates. We do know though that the Edmonton Liberal candidates altogether received thousands more votes than the total number of Edmontonians who voted.


It is possible that Liberal candidates only had the support of about 6500 Edmonton voters, a fact hidden by the 27,000 votes they received.


The multiple votes cast in Calgary for the non-UFA parties also worked to create the UFA's apparent weakness. In Calgary, 17,000 voters cast about 76,000 votes. None of this went to the UFA who did not run candidates in Calgary.


19,000 votes went to Calgary Liberal candidates, 2,000 more than there were voters who voted.


So the multiple-voting in Calgary also helped give the false impression that the UFA had less support than it actually had, like it did in Edmonton.


The Single Transferable Voting system uses multi-member districts same as Block Voting does but each STV voter casts only one vote.


After the UFA government was elected in 1921, rightly as proven above, it brought in STV in Edmonton, Calgary and Medicine Hat, and a related system, Alternative Voting, in the other areas. Under both systems each voter casts only one vote so the mathematical confusion that befogs the 1921 election was finished for good.


STV also provided mixed proportional representation in each city. A relative few votes were wasted in each city in each election. Unlike the 40 to 60 percent or more of votes wasted in each FPTP election, less than 20 percent of votes cast were wasted in Alberta's STV elections. Other benefits of STV are described in other blogs.


Thanks for reading.

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What is STV?

From a 1902 reform magazine: "Thinking it well to have in every number something by way of a brief explanation of proportional voting, I repeat in this number the following. Proportional representation means the use of a reasonable and scientific system of voting instead of the present stupid, unfair and inefficient procedure. Methods: There are several systems by which the principle of proportional representation may be given effect to. Large electoral districts, each electing several members, are a necessary feature. The "quota" plan is usually employed. It means that a quota of the votes elects one representative. To arrive at the quota, the number of valid votes cast is divided by the number of seats to be filled. For instance in a seven-member district any one-seventh of the voters could elect one representative and the other six-sevenths could not interfere with their choice. The three principal systems of proportional representation are the Free List as used in Switzerland and Belgium [party-list pro-rep], the Hare system as used in Tasmania [STV], and the Gove System as advocated in Massachusetts. The Preferential Vote [Alternative Voting/Instant Run-off Voting] -- This is used in the election of single officers such as a mayor. It is not strictly a form of pro-rep but is akin thereto, and uses part of the same voting methods. The object of preferential voting is to encourage the free nomination of candidates and to obtain always a clear majority at one balloting, no matter how many candidates are nominated." (From the Proportional Representation Review Dec. 1902, p. 77) (Hathi Trust online resource, page 81/180) Thanks for reading. Check out my blog "list of Montopedia blogs concerning electoral reform" to find other blogs on this important subject. ----------------------------------- This year in 2020: *Alberta is celebrating 150 years in Confederation 1870-2020 *100th Anniversary of STV first being used to elect legislators in Canada Winnipeg MLAs first elected through STV in 1920 ==============================================================

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