List of articles concerning electoral reform
on blogsite Montopedia
produced by Tom Monto
Below is list of blogs produced from 2019 to May 2021
As well, lists of more recent blogs can be found here:
https://montopedia.wixsite.com/montopedia/post/montopedia-blogs-on-electoral-reform-of-2021-2022
In these blogs I point out
weaknesses of the single-winner First Past The Past system currently used in provincial and federal elections in Canada
need for proportional representation in a democracy,
possible replacement electoral systems, and
my preference for preferential voting (STV in multi-member districts; AV inexisting single-member districts).
In particular, subjects covered by blogs include:
Weaknesses of FPTP
- 2019 Alberta election
- 2019 federal election
- Alberta NDP under-represented since its founding in 1961
- 2018 Ontario election
- Edmonton city elections
-
City of Edmonton electoral reform
-- ease of grouping wards to make multi-member districts
-- new single-member wards for 2021 will make little difference -- still many votes
will be wasted; minorities, not majorities, will be represented
History of Canadian governments changing electoral systems
Variety of electoral systems that Canadian governments have used
How do we bring about electoral reform?
Weakness of the U.S. electoral college system
Multi-member districts
(all forms of PR use multi-member districts/at-large elections. This alone has benefits whether you use party-list PR, STV or SNTV.)
- Multi-member districts are key to having a range of candidates and representative legislatures
Proportional representation
(a family of systems including party-list pro-rep and
STV, which used to be called "the British form of pro-rep")
[Guide to keywords:
preferential voting = ranked ballots = single transferable votes = Alternative Voting or STV
Preferential Voting = Alternative Voting
Single Transferable Voting (STV) = PR-STV]
Single Transferable Voting (STV)
- how it works
- Sandford Fleming's 1893 book Essays on the rectification of Parliament
Catherine Helen Spence
- history of use of STV in Canadian history
- Edmonton city elections 1923-1927
- Election of Edmonton MLAs 1924-1955
- 1926 Alberta provincial election
- Election of Edmonton and Calgary MLAs in 1948
- Alberta provincial elections 1924-1955
- Manitoba provincial elections 1920-1952
- Winnipeg city elections 1920-1960s and 1970s
- 100th anniversary of the first Winnipeg city election to use PR-STV
- Western Canadian cities (20 Western Canadian cities used STV in 150 elections)
- Why was provincial STV dropped in Alberta and Manitoba?
- STV - what it is and how to make it happen now!
Tasmania and STV
Catherine Helen Spence
Bass, Australia STV election in 1998
Australia and STV
2020 Australian election - STV proved its worth
Alternative Voting (AV) (also known as Instant-Runoff Voting)
- how Alternative Voting works
-- AV defended from untrue criticism
"Attack on Preferential Voting based on shaky grounds"
- history of use of Alternative Voting
- BC elections in 1952, 1953
- New York has adopted AV as of 2019
- Aspen, Colorado used quasi-AV in 2009 -- "total schmozzle"
- Maine has adopted AV for elections of congressmen, STV affected 2018 outcome
- London, Ontario adopted AV
- London, Ontario forced by Ontario Ford government to give up AV
Party-list pro-rep
-- Ranked ballots versus party-list pro-rep
Single Non Transferable Voting
* SNTV pretty proportional and much more so than FPTP
* SNTV allows diversity of candidates and representatives
==============================================
List of my blogs concerning electoral reform
as of May 2021
(Bold indicates blogs I am most proud of.)
(The order of the blogs will change as or if I update them. But they can be located by title
by going to the blogsite and using the search function (control/F))
--------------------------
Policy lurches, referendums and PR Dec. 30, 2020 Proportional representation History Alberta
few policy lurches caused by change of government in AB history
Swiss use of referendums and pro-rep
Elise Stolts, Edmonton Journal article
Manitoba Direct Legislation....UFM
Alberta Direct Legislation ... UFA .... STV/AV
Pro-rep means sensitive response to different voting behaviour
Proportional representation
Current Events
More votes means more success under STV in most cases despite what naysayers say Proportional representation FACTS
Communicating pro-rep to politicians History Current Events Proportional representation
=================
Reasons why politicians would want Pro-rep:
Under FPTP there are many accidental elections of a candidate who has just a minority of the vote...
Under PR, loss of a seat would be less accidental. A small changes in vote tallies is exaggerated under FPTP often...
This makes governments unstable and defensive...
Opposition parties are sidelined and get little respect...
FPTP surprise Candidate running for election on behalf of a governing party too often find that their party has suffered small drop in popularity and has become a runt party...
FPTP often allows change in local situation to have great effect on the legislature...
Question: Do party leaders really benefit from regionalism within their own jurisdiction?...
FPTP often allows change in local situation to have great effect on government...
Under STV, there would be more opportunity for respect to those with seniority, if the voters desire to grant it...
a politician elected under FPTP has the uncertainty of not knowing whether he or she was chosen because of own ability and credibility or because of the party label...
You have assurance under STV...
Under STV there would be less acrimonious polarization. ...
However switching from FPTP to STV will improve some candidates' chances and hurt others' chances...
Wider geographic range under STV = less gerrymandering...
In summary, PR would make governments less subject to wild fluctuations, give more stability, decrease glad-handing, give politicians more respect, stimulate more intelligent debate.
===================== Edmonton city council is unpopular - and always was - but will prob. be re-elected. FPTP is to blame
2021 is the anniversary of three events in Canada's election story
UFA election
last STV election held in Canada Calgary city
1971 election of Peter Lougheed government
Fair Representation Act if passed would bring fairness to U.S. federal elections
STV would produce more diversity "at the table" on Edmonton city council
STV - what it is, what it meant to voters and why it left provincial and city elections
Canada and U.S. Ashtabula Calgary
Alberta Manitoba 1924 1955 1956 1959 1971
First Past the Post cheats voters in every province
2019 Canada election
Fair representation for all though STV and multi-member districts
What kind of electoral reform do we want? And what does local mean?
Effective Voting is a must for a proper democracy
Catherine Helen Spence Tasmania Australia Fleming Rectification of the Parliament
Sandford Fleming Rectification of the Parliament
Fleming's 1893 book is reproduced here in five parts:
Fleming Rectification of the Parliament part 1
Fleming Rectification of the Parliament part 2
Fleming Rectification of the Parliament part 3 Catherine Helen Spence
Fleming Rectification of the Parliament part 4
Fleming Rectification of the Parliament part 5
Ottawa, many cities have many more councillors than Edmonton
Edmonton city council Edmonton city elections
Voters marking only one preference in STV elections not large problem
Electoral Reform Society (UK) Australia
SNTV preferable to Cumulative Voting
What is Representation? One Woman MLA not enough - but in 1920 it was sign of women's growing power
The Gove plan - an easy vote transfer mechanism
2021 Pro-rep anniversaries
Women's success under STV is uncertain but more likely than under FPTP. Same for Communist and Left
Winnipeg 1920
Alberta MLAs - Edith Gostick, Rose Wilkinson Stella Baker Hattersley Butterworth Murdoch Ethel Wilson Laurette Douglas Holowach
"Diversity at the table" requested by city council candidate, pro-rep would do it
2022 Quebec electoral reform referendum
STV produces majority rule. FPFP too often produces minority rule
Alberta brought in STV in successive steps 1913-1924
timeline Calgary Lethbridge Edmonton city provincial
xx
Alternative Voting, STV better than existing system in avoiding minority rule Proportional representation Alberta History
Vote-splitting causes poor results. Transferable votes solve that problem Current Events Proportional representation
Cumulative Voting not as good as STV
Proportional representation
Current Events
Alberta under FPTP - governments with more seats than support
Alberta History
Proportional representation
Winnipeg Free Press claimed credit for STV in Winnipeg
History
Proportional representation
THE WASTE OF VOTES UNDER OUR PRESENT VOTING SYSTEM
History
Current Events
Proportional representation
What do we want? EFFECTIVE VOTING... When do we want it? NOW.
Proportional representation
Current Events
100th anniversary of the first Winnipeg city election to use PR-STV
History
Proportional representation
Timeline of provincial elections where women could vote Alberta History Proportional representation
What do Queen Alexandra and Elmer Roper have in common? A tale of district names
Alberta History
Proportional representation
Prof. says Canadians want regionalism addressed, not unfair electoral system, but one made the other
Alberta
Current Events
Proportional representation
Calgary-Varsity's frequent change of MLAs caused by FPTP in this artificial, small district
Alberta History
Proportional representation
FPTP produces oversize governments, wrong-winners, etc.
Current Events
Proportional representation
Single Transferable Voting in an Alberta context
Alberta History
Proportional representation
1926 STV Edmonton provincial election reviewed by STV authority Hallett Proportional representation
Edmonton Affairs Alberta History
George Hallett Edmonton Journal article 1926
Canada's minority rule -- Federal FPTP produces odd results and always has
Proportional representation
here is old link, which worked in 2023:
20 Western Canadian cities used STV between 1917 and 1971 Proportional representation
Alberta History Current Event
Edmonton and Calgary STV elections in 1948 Proportional representation History Alberta Nov 26
This STV fable shows the random-ness of FPTP and the reliability of STV Proportional representation Current Events Nov 25
Why was provincial STV dropped in Alberta and Manitoba?
Alberta History
SNTV pretty proportional and much more so than FPTP
Why was provincial STV dropped in Alberta and Manitoba?
Nov. 25, 2020
1959 Edmonton election
SNTV pretty proportional and much more so than FPTP
Single Non Transferable Voting
Single Transferable Voting
SNTV allows diversity of candidates and representatives
Single Non Transferable Voting
ACE Electoral Knowledge Network SNTV entry parsed and dissected
STV - what it is and how to make it happen now!
Single Transferable Voting
history of STV in Alberta and Western Canada
excerpt: ...This was how it consistently operated in the 46 Calgary city elections it was used between 1917 and 1971. STV was also used by 19 other Western Canadian cities, including the capital cities of all the western provinces. It was used in eight provincial elections to elect Calgary and Edmonton MLAs between 1926 and 1955 and to elect Winnipeg MLAs in 9 elections....
"Patience, intelligence and clear statement"
how to convince others of need for electoral reform or of anything
STV in Canadian cities as described in 1930
Joseph P. Harris
"Practical Workings of proportional representation in the U.S. and Canada"
National Municipal Review, 19 (5) May 1930 (pages 337-383)
Includes list of STV referendums
STV elections in Edmonton 1923 to 1927
... Edmonton elections from 1923 to 1927 used STV for multiple-winner elections -- councillors and school board trustees, all elected at large. ...
results of city-level STV elections in Edmonton 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927
STV as part of MMP is way to go
Mixed-Member Proportional
scheme of MMP for Canada envisioned
What the P.R. League Advocates (1922)
"WHAT WE ADVOCATE" and a collection of miscellaneous explanatory and inspirational message pertaining to STV circa 1922
Ireland
What is STV? (1902) (also used as running footnote on many blogs)
What STV is (1924)
What P.R. is
Only a bit technical
Explains mechanics of STV
From Izena Ross to Jan Reimer to Sarah Hamilton, women have tried their luck in Edmonton elections
Sometimes it just takes a person to step forward and do something for something to happen. The first woman to be elected to Edmonton's city council was the first woman to run....
Woman candidates listed from 1921 2018
One vote under STV = one Effective Vote, in most cases.
Multiple votes = mostly ineffective votes
Nov. 13, 2020
Gives answer to "Why does each voter cast only one vote in a multi-member district under STV?"
New technology -- something to be suspicious of
new Canada Post demands, CDs, DVDs
Democracy Index 2019 -- Canada versus Denmark
... Canada is tied with Denmark for #7.
Canada beats Denmark on "Functioning of government" and "Civil liberties".
Denmark beats us on "Electoral system and pluralism"...
Of the 23 "Full Democracies," all but two use proportional representation of some sort.
The 21 pro-rep countries among the Full Democracies include two that use STV.
Ireland is #6.
Australia (#9) uses pro-rep just for Senate elections.
the only non-PR countries listed as Full Democracies are Canada and the UK...
Some pro-rep systems are more proportional than others...
STV would address rural-urban disparity
[by making all elections fairer]
... The artificial FPTP-created City-versus-Country jealousy...
WEXIT and Pro-Rep
... Ontario and Quebec do have the most voters and the most seats. Our present system actually over-represents rural areas compared to cities, and over-represents less-populous provinces compared to most populous ones....
Canadian election system quicker than the U.S. but both unfair. STV is the answer.
... we should not derive much pleasure from comparing our system to the system used in the U.S., a system invented in the 1700s.
Instead we should compare ourselves to European countries, most of which use party-list proportional representation....
How to present an STV election
advice for newspaper writers and historians how to report on an STV election, to give readers and voters proper picture of what happened
A ranked voting system that does not use numbers
pick word that best describes the candidate... a curiosity
Give me STV with rural-urban disparity if it means end to FPTP and its massive vote waste
response to "Kamloops Armchair Mayor" (Rothenburger, CFCJ Today, Nov. 1, 2020)
District-level pro-rep such as created by STV allows
- local representation (even if in larger districts than the current small single-member districts, but still at the city or county level)
- proportional rep (at the district level), and even
- unequal voter-to-member ratio from district to district - if desired to overcome how urban voters could overwhelm rural voters.
... If the ratio of 7 urban voters to four rural voters was taken as a rule, the difference between urban voters and rural voters at that ratio - less than a 100 percent disparity - compares well to the crazy disparities and wastage under FPTP. ...
FPTP means representatives not accountable
Nov. 4, 2020
An anti-pro-rep pundit wrote recently that under FPTP "The winning candidate is accountable to electors into the next election."
Under FPTP, many representatives are elected with only the support of a minority of the voters in the district.
If someone was elected by a minority of the votes, how is he or she accountable to the voters in the next election?...
Polls cannot predict almost-random elections -- U.S. pres. included
Nov. 4, 2020
WEXIT threatens federal Conservative prospects
A pollster on CBC this morning (October 30) said that the rising Wexit sentiment should be source of concern for federal Conservative politicians.
If Wexit rises to takes ten seats, that means it may cause the loss of 25 Tory seats. This is due to the close contests there.
All of this can be traced to the First past the post system....
STV vote transfers deny election to only a few first-count leaders
The first count of votes in a STV election pretty much determines who will be elected in the end. But that result is not certain. Transfers caused by eliminations of least-popular candidates may create change. If a first-count leader is not as widely acceptable to voters as another candidate, he or she will not be elected. The transfers where they do not make any change are more safeguards of democracy than anything else.
Looking at the STV elections of MLAs in Edmonton and Calgary from 1926 to 1955, we see this to be true...
but one or more are changed almost every time.
The election of a candidate of a party not previously present in the leaders in the first count occurred in seven of the eight STV elections in Edmonton and six of the eight STV elections in Calgary....
An example of an election deeply affected by vote transfers but with no effect on party representation (final results versus first count)
STV election in 1952 in Edmonton. Seven MLAs elected....
Cherished rural over-representation no obstacle to adoption of STV.
STV being district-based, district disparities can be continued or be quelled.
That is minority rule, and it is wrong. You could even say it is unconstitutional!
RE: National Post article Colby Cosh "The case that could prove Canadian elections were unconstitutional all along" (Sept. 25, 2020
...The present system denies representation to the relative minority groups of voters while awarding seats to candidates who do not have the support of a majority of voters in their districts.
That is minority rule, and it is wrong. You could even say it is unconstitutional!
this blog (or a different one) was later updated and renamed:
Gove and List plans ease STV in far-flung ridings
A problem with STV is that votes have to be gathered together in a central location for the transfers. This can cause delay (maybe even as much as the two-week delay to count mail-in votes that is happening in BC right now.) Anyways C.G. Hoag, in his pamphlet Effective Voting (1914), described two systems where votes do not have to be gathered together to allow vote transfers....
On the Poles, no, not the polls
Poland uses a proportional representation system for its elections....
STV for Canada -- for the right reasons. Vancouver island as test case.
The "STV for Canada" website provides a model of the outcome for federal election if STV was brought in in Vancouver island and Toronto. But the group's expectation of STV's performance varies from mine. And its mathematical analysis is somewhat weak, to my way of thinking...
Toronto test case
SNTV ensures mixed rep -- no single party takes all of a district's seats
Oct. 30
SNTV a form of Limited Voting
Making "odd" multi-member districts
In Federal elections
Votes = minorities or slight majorities
Seats = massive majority all too often
This low popularity of our ruling parties is not reflected in the large majorities shown by seat counts in the House of Common
Six reasons to like STV
1. It has already been used successfully in Canada at every level of government except the federal one. Seventeen cities have used it, in more than 150 elections. Two provincial governments used it, in 17 elections....
3. it is district-level so could be brought in incrementally. Alberta and Manitoba used it in provincial elections only in the major cities. Where it was brought in, it did good and did no harm to the other places. Better to have some of the seats elected through STV than to have none elected that way...
local representation is even guaranteed. Representation of a particular sub-district is guaranteed if the voters there add up to quota and concentrate their choices on their locality's candidates. This guarantee should satisfy those worried about the loss of local representation under multi-member districts...
Four parties elected - delayed in our history due to FPTP. That fairness achievable under pro-rep
1896
1921
BC Nationalist party of socialists
Canada votes Conservative only when Republican in White House. it's just a fact
At least no Conservative majority government has ever been elected by a majority of the votes when a Democrat in the White House
Federal ridings could be base of STV districts. Why not?
scheme of multi-member districts in Alberta
Watersheds and cities could be key to Alberta STV districts. Let's try it soon!
Five-member STV districts proposed for Alberta (1935)
Oct. 28
Alberta's false majority governments
Alberta has never had a minority government, where no party received a majority of the seats. But many times an Alberta party has taken less than a majority of the votes and was still elected to a majority of the seats in the legislature
STV elections
FPTP elections 1971, 1989, 1993, 2004, 2012, 2015
So much for Alternative Voting in London, Ontario
The Conservative government of Ontario is using the pandemic as reason to stop the move toward preferential voting and proportional representation.
Mixed and roughly proportional representation is already created in the first count in STV elections
The important feature of an STV election is which candidates are among the front runners in the first count. However many seats are up for grabs in the election, that same number of front runners are mostly going to be the ones who will be elected in the end.
But luckily already in the first count the front runners are mixed, representing different parties. They also reflect the views of the substantial groupings among the district's voters as regards gender, ethnic group, etc...
2020 Australian election - STV proved its worth
Australian Capital Territory, October 2020 Greens with 14 percent of the vote took 6 out of 25 seats.
Was this proportional? No.
Was it what voters wanted? Yes.
Proportionality of party representation is just measure of one aspect of an STV election...
The results must by definition be representative of the voters' sentiments because they were produced by the voters' marked preferences....
The vote transfers made little difference in the result versus the first preferences...
A candidate can win a seat with pretty much only his or her original first count support as long as he or she is popular enough not to be eliminated...
FPTP screwed up 1921 federal election, Winnipeg STV expert Ronald Hooper said
Canada's First Past the Post system creates various un-proportionality and other negative aspects. FPTP causes unstable minority government, made worse by parties' hope for a lucky break, the loss of valuable members of House of Commons and the exaggeration of regionalism.
All this was known a full hundred years ago.
Stability
Electoral reformer Ronald Hooper noted in 1922 that if STV had been in use in the 1921 federal election, the resulting government would have been more stable....
"The majority must govern, but the minority should be heard. That is scarcely the case" (1884)
Oct. 17, 2020
Extract from 1884 article entitled "Proportional Representation" by Robert B. Hayward
Problems with FPTP:
"1. majority representation, merely counting majorities and not weighing them, does not secure that a majority of electors shall always command a majority of representatives.
2. the results of [FPTP] generally deviate widely from the ideal, which is proportional representation.
3. in large groups of generally similar districts, majority representation [FPTP] gives an excessive preponderance in the representation to the party that has the majority.
4. majority representation is unstable. Small shifting majorities have an undue influence on the representation, enormously exaggerating the fluctuations of political opinion in the country at large."...
(from The Nineteenth Century, Volume 15 (Jan.-June 1884))
Proportional Representation is leading plank of UFA platform (1921)
A month before the great 1921 provincial election, the Red Deer News broadcast the United Farmers' campaign promises under a proud headline.
"Farmers Platform in Alberta Campaign --
Proportional Representation, with preferential ballots and Direct Legislation,
leading planks in platform."
A special committee of the UFA organization composed this declaration of principles...
Opinions on Canadian municipal STV (1924)
Opinions on municipal STV
From Proportional Representation Review, April 1924 (p. 52-85)
... Vancouver and Victoria...
Winnipeg
St. James
Calgary
Edmonton
Regina
Saskatoon
Moose Jaw
North Battleford
West Vancouver
Vancouver
Victoria
New Westminster
Nelson
Mission
Port Coquitlam
"15 percent Supplemental members not enough"
MMP BC 2018 referendum
Edmonton's new ward names "ironic", "mere window dressing", says pro-democracy activist
-- Irony of Indigenous names for new wards
-- the natural justice of indigenous societies contrasted with unfair FPTP city elections
-- balanced representation was produced in Winnipeg when it used STV in city elections
The system we currently use in provincial and federal elections, and in Edmonton city elections often fails us. It allows a minority to have representation while the majority do not. ...
What is STV? (1902)
[some of this is used as appendix to many blogsites]
This is how to hold a STV rally -- Tasmania, 1902 Oct. 16, 2020
Catherine Helen Spence
Robert Tyson "of Canada" -- biographical notes
1926 -- STV used in four places in the world
- Western Canada, Tasmania/Australia, Ireland and Malta
Tasmania's STV today differs from old Alberta STV but both fair and just
- Examination of STV election held in Bass, Australia 1998 election
- Mechanics of Tasmania's STV vote counting, exposed and compared to the one that was used in Alberta provincial elections
- Tasmania, Australia
Elbert's Local Transferable Vote -- large rural districts may be hard sell but local representation guarantees may help sell them
Leonid A. Elbert submission to 2016 House of Commons Special Committee
Leonid A. Albert of Moncton, New Brunswick
Hare quota may be way to go
In Single Transferable Voting (STV), the quota is an important and complicated part of the equation. But it does not have to be either of those things.
Commonsense simplifications of STV urged in 1930
Joseph P. Harris
"Practical Workings of proportional representation in the U.S. and Canada"
National Municipal Review, 19 (5) May 1930 (pages 337-383)
The following includes many extracts from the article.
other names offered for STV:
Choice Voting
[Other names that have been proposed for Proportional Representation:
Australia's old-time STC campaigner Catherine Helen Spence, preferred the term Effective Voting.
One of Canada's old-time STC campaigners, Sir Richard Cartwright, preferred the term Proportionate Representation...
list of STV referendums in Canada (Harris, p. 367
Voters casting multiple votes cause confusion
When voters can cast multiple votes, confusion reigns over the determination of the popularity of the candidates elected
Multi-member districts key to having a range of candidates and representative legislatures
Oct. 7, 2020
Multi-member districts may be key to voters having variety of candidates to choose from and to consistently electing broadly-based legislatures. FPTP is a system where only one representative is elected in each district. But multi-member districts, used in a variety of electoral systems, create healthier elections and broadly-based legislatures if the electoral system is at all fair.
STV eliminations are arbitrary but only decisive in some cases
Back when people considered such things, they had a problem with STV's arbitrary rule to eliminate the least-popular candidate during the vote counts. ...
It may be arbitrary. But it is no more arbitrary than the First Past The Post's arbitrary election of the one with more votes than any other,
STV demonstration election
Catherine Helen Spence explained how she held demonstration STV elections to give citizens practical experience with the voting system.
how many votes
how many seats
how many candidates
how to verify representative-ness of results
(these tests are transferable to real elections)
"Preferential Ballots", published in 1914, listed benefits of Alternative Voting
"Preferential Ballots", published in 1914, listed the benefits of the Preferential Voting system, which is pretty much the Alternative Voting system that is used today in city elections in London, Ontario and New York City, ...
Under Alternative Voting, vote-splitting will not ensure minority success
An important benefit of Preferential Ballots (meaning Alternative Voting, also known as "Instant-Runoff Voting) is that a minority group cannot benefit from vote-splitting among a larger group.
FPTP shamed in 1914 "Preferential Ballot" essay History Proportional representation
Preferential Ballots used back in 1914. Bucklin system was used but it had problem - discouraged voters from marking back-up preferences. AV and STV has a problem - the arbitrary elimination of the least-popular candidate where necessary - but this problem is not as bad. Sept., 2020
Edmonton city elections are honestly reported - the surprise is what they don't say
Re-statement of the democratic failings of the 2018 Edmonton city election of city councillors and chiding of the official election result result for not telling all that voters may want to know
Oct. 8, 2020
STV eliminations are arbitrary but only decisive in some cases
Multi-member districts key to having a range of candidates and representative legislatures
STV SNTV
STV multi-member districts produce fair and mixed representation
"Preferential Ballots", published in 1914, listed benefits of Alternative Voting
Sept. 30, 2020
Under Alternative Voting, vote-splitting will not ensure minority success
Sept. 30, 2020
Advantages of STV's multi-member districts Alberta History Proportional representation Sept., 2020
Exhausted votes does not mean un-represented Proportional representation History Sept., 2020
Proxy Plan (interactive representation) proposed in 1893
Proportional representation History
[Proxy Plan (interactive representation) was proposed for legislatures whereby elected representatives would wield as many votes as they received in the previous election.
This was mentioned in an essay in Sanford Fleming's 1893 book Essays on Rectification of Parliament.]
Sept. 2020
2018 Ontario election disproportional, minority ruled updated Sept, 2020
Proportional representation History
Overall the results of the 2018 Ontario Election were disproportional to the voters' support for the parties. As well, a large number of MLAs were elected without the approval of a majority of the voters in their district...
Many provincial governments have changed their electoral systems Proportional representation History Alberta Sept. 2020
2009 Aspen preferential voting election a total schmozzle History Proportional representation Sept., 2020
Four threats to U.S. democracy today History Current Events Proportional representation Sept., 2020
Attack on Preferential Voting based on shaky grounds Current Events Proportional representation Sept., 2020
-- Alternative Voting
-- Aspen, Colorado
Maine has adopted Alternative Voting History Current Events Proportional representation Sept., 2020
Electoral reform may be coming - a little anyway Proportional representation Current Events History Sept., 2020
The Old North West - a place to get it right Alberta History Proportional representation Sept., 2020
Edmonton Bulletin called for majority rule 1884, mirrors today's call for Effective Voting Alberta History Current Events Books and writers Proportional representation Sept., 2020
U.S. reform governor later active in Edmonton politics - John W. Leedy Alberta History Proportional representation Sept., 2020
Alberta's STV produced wide representation, wasted few votes Alberta History Proportional representation Sept., 2020
1926 Edmonton election proved STV's fairness Alberta History Proportional representation Sept., 2020
One reader's review of my STV blogs Proportional representation Sep 19
Effect of STV on our House of Commons today Proportional representation Current Events History Sept., 2020
Nominations are important but STV covers it. Proportional representation History Alberta Sep 17
U.S. electoral college -- Congressional district method seldom effective History Proportional representation Sep 16
What if the 2016 U.S. pres. election had been held using Alternative Voting? History Current Events Proportional representation Sep 16
Ernest Brown called for democratic pro-rep Proportional representation Alberta History Sep 12
What is conserved under Conservative rule? Current Events Proportional representation FACTS Sep 11
What were the five main parties of Alberta's history? Alberta History Current Events Proportional representation Sep 11
2019 Alberta election -- how many wasted votes? Proportional representation Alberta History Sep 11
What are Alberta's four main parties? Alberta History Proportional representation Sep 10
Was Ralph Klein popular as premier? Alberta History Proportional representation Sep 10
Was Klein popular in 1993? Alberta History Proportional representation Sep 10
Alternative Voting (a form of Preferential Voting) ensures majority rule Proportional representation History Current Events Proportional representation
to be elected under AV, a candidate must have a majority of the votes involved.
party leaders elected through AV
Jason Kenny was elected Alberta Conservative (UCP) leader through AV, taking a majority of UCP members' votes cast.
AV uses transferable votes so there is no vote-splitting. Sep 9 (see also "Alternative Voting is much preferable because it is preferential")
London, ON -- first gov't to use Alternative Voting since 1971 History Proportional representation Sep 9
Variety of electoral systems used in Canada's past Alberta History Proportional representation Sep 5
Have Canadian governments ever changed electoral systems? Proportional representation History Alberta Sep 5
Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst in Edmonton History Alberta Proportional representation Sep 4
1894 Ontario election
(one of the first appearances of a "third party" in Canada)
farmers' Patrons of Industry, anti-Catholics' Protestant Protective Association History Proportional representation Sep 4
ALHI discussion of way forward for labour History Current Events Proportional representation Sep 4
Democracy in Edmonton -- how do we get it? Edmonton Affairs Proportional representation Sep 3
Alternative Voting is much preferable because it is preferential Proportional representation History Alberta
[Alternative Voting (AKA Instant-runoff Voting) does not necessarily produce proportional representation or increase voter turnout or build coalitions, as Harold Jansen, in his Canadian Journal of Political Science article "The Political Consequences of the Alternative Vote: Lessons from Western Canada" pointed out. It does ensure that to be elected a candidate must receive, or accumulate through vote transfers, a majority of the votes in the district. At the district level, this ensures majority rule and prevents minority rule.] Sept., 2020
There are Paper Votes and then there are Paper Votes Edmonton Affairs Proportional representation Sep 3
Ray Martin called for electoral reform in recent Alberta Primetime broadcast Proportional representation History Alberta Sep 2
Check out "Cleese on PR (full length)" on Youtube. Proportional representation History Current Events Aug 16
New York has adopted Alternative Voting Current Events Proportional representation Aug 16
2018 BC referendum - many districts in favour of change Proportional representation History Aug 12
BC-STV animated video, quota, surplus transfers explained Proportional representation Aug 7
1952 SC victory in BC result of voter choice under Alternative Voting History Proportional representation Aug 5
1952 BC election - Alternative Voting produced unexpected but fair results History Proportional representation Aug 5
How do we bring about electoral reform? Proportional representation Current Events History Proportional representation Jul 24
London Ontario's Alternative Voting election in 2018 History Proportional representation Jul 23
BC and Alberta -- very, very different politics Current Events History Proportional representation Jul 10
1952, 1955 Edm elections shows effect of STV Alberta History Proportional representation Jul 10
15 percent supplemental seats not enough History Current Events Proportional representation Jul 8
Strathcona's MLAs - two premiers and mostly NDP since 1972 Alberta History Proportional representation Jul 7
Alberta provincial electoral districts - how they changed Alberta History Current Events Proportional representation Jul 7
Edmonton Left un-represented from 1956 to 1982 Alberta History Proportional representation Jul 7
Alberta's 1948 electricity vote mis-remembered Alberta History Proportional representation Jul 4
BC referendum question too sticky. Loosen up!" History Current Events Proportional representation Jul 3
Electoral reform question for Edmonton voters Current Events Alberta Edmonton Affairs History Proportional representation Jul 3
Alberta versus Ontario - their histories compared Alberta History Proportional representation Jun 24
Patrons of Industry opposed extreme partyism History Proportional representation Jun 23
UFO and Pro-rep History Proportional representation in Ontario Jun 23
STV - how does it work so well? Proportional representation Jun 20
Manitoba's provincial STV experience - good but too short History Proportional representation Jun 18
1921: Canada's FPTP system elected Minority Government History Proportional representation Alberta Jun 17
STV advantages pushed in Ohio 1923 History Proportional representation Jun 17
Democracy requires proportional representation Proportional representation Jun 17
Minority UCP in line to wield power over the majority? Alberta Proportional representation Current Events Jun 10
1884 Pro-rep answers "What is it we want? Proportional representation Alberta Jun 9
Aberhart's "funny money" Alberta History Proportional representation May 18
Workers voting for workers Proportional representation Alberta History Apr 24
Block Voting - a bad idea Alberta History Proportional representation Apr 24
Sandford Fleming, Essays on Rectification of Parliament (1893) History Proportional representation Apr 24
Two nifty voting reforms! Proportional representation Apr 23
Edmonton's STV experience, 1923-1927 Alberta History Proportional representation Apr 23
Socialist MLA applauded vote to renters 1910 Alberta History Proportional representation Apr 23
Farmer movement faltered in 1890s but never died History Proportional representation Apr 23
Alberta's False Majority governments History Alberta Proportional representation Mar 18
Multi-member districts prime for STV Proportional representation Mar 6
Ranked ballots versus party-list pro-rep Proportional representation Mar 4
- ranked ballots = Preferential Voting = Alternative Voting/STV
Winnipeg labour man called for active citizenry after General Strike Proportional representation History Feb 21
STV makes for stability Proportional representation Alberta History Current Events Feb 21
The “Double Democracy” system STV and party-level AV Proportional representation Feb 14
FPTP punished NDP in 2019 federal election Proportional representation Current Events Feb 14
Small change = big diff in 2019 federal election Proportional representation History Feb 14
[A shift of only a fraction of a percentage of votes would have given us a minority Conservative Government.]
MPs elected by minority, meh History Proportional representation
[2019 federal election saw many MPs elected with only minority of votes in their districts.] Feb 5
UFA promised STV, preferential ballots Alberta History Proportional representation
[July 1921 - UFA promised electoral reform. 1924 - it delivered on that promise!] Feb 5
When AB MLAs were elected by Pro-rep Proportional representation Alberta History Feb 5
[same as below? When AB MLAs not elected through FPTP]
2019 election –– unfair and almost random
Proportional representation History
Feb
What do we want in our government? Proportional representation Feb 5
U.S. minorities still under-represented under new system Current Events History Proportional representation Jan 24
If the 2019 federal election had used STV in large cities Proportional representation History Alberta Jan 24
scheme of making whole cities into multi-member districts where MPs elected through STV:
Edmonton
Calgary
Regina
Saskatoon
expected results compared to actual elections of Edmonton and Calgary MLAs through STV
Don't blame STV for more parties History Alberta Proportional representation Jan 15
When AB MLAs not elected through FPTP
Proportional representation History
Jan 15
1912 -- Canadian envisioned fairness STV brings History Proportional representation Jan 10
Change Edmonton elections today! STV and at-large elections now! Edmonton Affairs Current Events Proportional representation Jan 10 2020
Tax those most able to pay Current Events Proportional representation Dec 13, 2019
Norway versus Alberta Alberta Proportional representation Dec 10, 2019
A rational face on Wexit Alberta Proportional representation Current Events Nov 27, 2019
A Proportional Analysis of the 2019 Federal Election
Alberta Proportional representation Current Events
Nov 4, 2019
2019 Federal Election -- A poor experience in responsible government History Current Events Proportional representation Nov 4, 2019
Canada's minority governments
History Proportional representation Current Events
Oct 18, 2019
(Canada has had many minority governments in the last hundred or so years.
After an election, the party with the most seats forms government.
It will only be sustained in power as long as it has the support of a majority (more than half) of the Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House. The support of the Senate is required to pass laws in Canada but it has no effect on the survival of an elected government.
if no party has a majority of the MPs in the House of Commons, ...)
Alberta used Pro-Rep for 30 years ... Let's do it again!
Proportional representation History
Oct 16, 2019
"STV: Alberta's Past - and Future?"
Proportional representation
Oct 15, 2019
"To PM Justin Trudeau, A Plea for STV in federal elections" (Oct 15, 2019)
Proportional representation Current Events
BC STV (Oct 14, 2019)
Proportional representation
Alberta not so conservative (Oct 13, 2019)
Proportional representation History Alberta
seeking a majority...(Nov 21, 2019)
("I was recently asked about which electoral mechanism I would recommend with two posts empty and four candidates running, to ensure that the successful candidates have the support of a majority of the voters...)
On creating a perfect or better society (Sep 27, 2019)
Edmonton Affairs Alberta Current Events
Trudeau mis-speaking
(He is saying that his government is giving pensioners better pay-outs.No he is only promising to do so. He has been in power for four years. Why did he not do what he is now promising during all that time he was in power? And how do we know he will do what he now promises to do if re-elected. He promised to give us electoral reform, and then broke his promise. At least he had the good grace to admit publicly two years ago that he would not fulfill his promise....)
The 1948 Edmonton vote proved STV works
Alberta History Proportional representation
[1948 election of Edmonton MLAs proved STV provides mixed roughly-proportional representation at district level.]
(Sep 11, 2019)
I've been published
(Check out next issue of the Mill Wood Mosaic produced by Arnim Joop, page 7 "Old Alberta elections may point way to future")
2019 Alberta election (Election analyzed visa vis Proportional representation)
(Sep 2, 2019)
NDP's 2015 win - an overdue debt finally paid (Jul 19, 2019)
(NDP was under-represented in every election since its founding in 1961 - until 2015.)
Alberta's STV overlooked but ready to return Updated: Sep 1, 2019
(RE: CBC article "What does the Caq’s promise of electoral reform hold for Anglophones?” by Kate McKenna, Oct. 4, 2018)
John Stuart Mill - Democracy, not earplugs June 2019
John Stuart Mill in 1884 wrote: “The pure idea of democracy, according to its definition, is the government of the whole people by the whole people, equally represented."
The Disproportionality of the 2018 Ontario Election
Proportional representation History
[Overall the 2018 Ontario Election disproportional to voters' support for parties. Many MPPs not have majority support in their districts]
June 22, 2019
[This was my earliest blog on electoral reform.]
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keyword: (See my blog "list of Montopedia blogs concerning electoral reform" to find other blogs on this important subject.)
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