( Superman needs another win!!)
Ranked ballots “just a better system” counters University of Toronto professor
Cambridge Times
ByRichard Vivian
CAMBRIDGE – Will the next municipal election be decided using a ranked ballot system or the current first-past-the-post process?
That’s the issue facing city council members on Tuesday (Sept. 27) as they discuss a staff report that urges the status quo.
In making his recommendation to council, clerk Michael Di Lullo cites a number of concerns, including potential voter confusion and increased costs.
“Staff recommends that council maintain the current first-past-the-post election model,” he states in the report released on Friday. “It makes the most sense to naturally evolve and expand upon existing election services and customer service through Internet voting and vote anywhere options.”
Earlier this year, the provincial government told municipal councils they could decide whether to maintain the current system or adopt a ranked ballot system for the next election.
Each municipal council can choose individually.
“It’s just a better system,” Nelson Wiseman, director of Canadian Studies with the University of Toronto, told the Times of the ranked ballot system. “It ensures that somebody gets 50 per cent.
“I don’t have to give all the other reasons. … Why should somebody get elected with 17 per cent?”
His example of 17 per cent voter support stems from a Toronto city councillor elected in 2014 – the result of a large number of candidates in the running.
Other benefits, Wiseman noted, include less vote splitting, a reduction in strategic voting – supporting one candidate simply because you want his or her opponent to lose – and a decrease in negative campaigning.
“You don’t want to turn off people who might vote for you (as their second choice),” he said of the latter. “That is a big factor.”
There is no mention of potential benefits for voters or positive aspects of ranked voting in the clerk’s report to council.
“There is consensus from the Waterloo Region area municipal clerks that it is still premature to undertake ranked ballots because of the uncertainties,” the clerk writes. “The clerks in Waterloo Region do not support ranked ballot elections at this time.”
There are two types of ranked ballots and both would be needed in Cambridge due to the fact our representatives are already chosen in two different ways.
For mayor and ward councillor positions, there is only one person chosen by the electorate. However, when it comes to selecting our representatives on regional council, two people are picked.
Check out the sidebar for details about how the ranked ballot systems work.
Ranked ballots are not allowed for electing school board trustees, which may require a second ballot and contribute to voter confusion, Di Lullo notes.
No municipalities in Canada currently use the ranked ballot system, though it is used to select political party leaders both provincially and nationally.
In fact, the Academy Awards uses a ranked ballot system to determine which film receives the Best Picture award.
The system is also part of a current national electoral reform review.
According to Di Lullo’s report, only two municipalities in the United States use a ranked ballot election system. Co-incidentally, one of them is Cambridge, Ma.
If council were to approve ranked ballots for 2018, the clerk notes the cost of running the election could increase by $57,000, a “thorough public consultation process” would be required and additional testing of election equipment would need to be done.
There would also be a need for additional staff on election day to answer questions from residents about the new system.
Timely confirmation of election results is also among the concerns for Di Lullo. He notes unofficial results may still be available on election night, but official results “could take more than a week”, depending on the number of rounds needed to declare victors.
Council has the option of including a referendum question on the 2018 ballot about using a ranked system in the future. However, at least 50 per cent voter turnout is needed for the referendum result to be binding.
Voter turnout for the 2014 municipal election was just shy of 30 per cent.
http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news-story/6875467-keep-first-past-the-post-elections-staff-report-urges-city-council/#.V-ZzDHZ8IQg.facebook
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