Let's Make Voting Compulsory

Let's make voting compulsory: Explora Canada about:reader?url=http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehcs/detail/detail?vid= ... web.a.ebscohost.com Let's make voting compulsory: Explora Canada 5-6 minutes Section: Editorial, pg. A14 The so-called democratic deficit in Canada has been a subject of discussion for some years, especially at the federal and provincial levels where political parties are a major part of the process. At least two facts are cited as evidence of this deficit. The first is low voter turnout. The second is that our riding-based, first-past-the-post electoral system sometimes yields parliaments or legislatures that do not accurately reflect the number of votes received by each of the parties. Critics of the first-past-the-post system centre complain that parties · which gain less than half of the votes cast - in some cases much less - often are able to form majority governments. This is regarded as both unfair and not truly representative of the voters' desires. Their preferred solution often is some form of proportional representation, with a percentage of the seats still coming from ridings where first-past-the-post rules, and other members added from a list provided by each party. The goal is to achieve a rough balance between seats and voting percentage. Some form of proportional representation has and is being used in several countries. It is lauded or criticized, depending on the observer, for having a tendency to result in minority governments. One of the criticisms of most forms of proportional representation is that members selected from a party list are not elected directly by the voters. Ideas about changing our first-past-the-post voting system are in the air, especially in the provinces. British Columbia has been through a citizens' assembly process that recommended a form of proportional representation called the Single Transferable Vote (STV), although it failed in a recent referendum to get the 60 per cent required for approval. 1 of3 2017-12-13, 5:03 PM Let's make voting compulsory: Explora Canada about:reader?url=http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehcs/detail/detail?vid= ... Some observers believe the referendum failed because voters did not understand STV - and some because they did! In any case, STV would be far more complex than our current system . Other provinces also are discussing electoral reform, and even Prime Minister Paul Martin has been known to talk about the democratic deficit. The STV experience in B.C. suggests that before we adopt any new system, we should make an attempt to improve our current system by making voting compulsory. While some may say that resorting to compulsion is not democratic, I would counter with the notion that the right to vote comes with an equal obligation to exercise that right. Naturally, anyone who does not wish to register an opinion, or does not approve of any of the choices on offer, could choose to leave the ballot blank, but still would have to enter a voting booth to make that choice. Since it is probable that many non-voters actually do have opinions but don't vote because they think their vote doesn't count, or they just don't get around to it, it is likely that the number of votes cast for candidates - as opposed to blank or spoiled ballots - would rise considerably. Small parties, in particular, should benefit because their supporters are the ones most likely to perceive that their votes don't count. As a best-practice example, Belgium has had compulsory voting for more than 100 years, and has averaged more than 90 per cent compliance over the last 50 years. This is far higher than our recent turnouts of around 60 per cent. Compulsory voting would mean that almost everyone registers an opinion, so the outcome would be more demo~ratic than current results. This would not necessarily mean the ratio of seats won to votes received would be better balanced than now, but I'd be prepared to give it a try before adopting some more complex system. If after some experience we still feel the results indicate the need for a form of proportional representation, continuing compulsory voting would help make any such system better. Compulsory voting also would have a profound effect on campaign tactics, particularly the use of negative ads . Savvy political operators can and do subvert the political process by using negative ads to turn off their opponent's supporters, who often just 2 of3 2017-12-13, 5:03 PM Let's make voting compulsory: Explora Canada about:reader?url=http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehcs/detail/detail?vid= ... throw their arms up in disgust and choose not to vote . With compulsory voting, offended voters would be more likely to turn away from any party that is too negative, and cast their votes for other parties, thus greatly limiting the appeal of negative ads. Wouldn't we all like to see more positive election campaigns, and indeed more positive parliamentary debates? Compulsory voting is an idea that is simple to understand, relatively easy and inexpensive to implement, and could have the profound effect of making our parliament and legislatures more representative. It's worth a try. Wayne Cook is former member of the Star's Community Editorial Board. Copyright (c) 2005 Toronto Star, All Rights Reserved. Source: Toronto Star (Canada), Aug 02, 2005 Item: 6FP1309903935 3 of3 2017-12-13, 5:03 PM