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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As referendum ballots arrive in mailboxes across the province, voters are invited to consider two possible electoral systems that have never been implemented in the world.
The two-member proportional ballot – developed by Sean Graham, a student at the University of Alberta – would create two-member districts in which parties can nominate up to two candidates. Mixed Member Proportional for Rural Areas.
RELATED: The next debate on proportional representation may come too late
The third option considered by voters, a purely mixed system of proportional representation, has precedents in other parts of the world that politicians could possibly study in developing electoral strategies, but this is not the case for the other two options. .
"It's not so much that [politicians] will not understand how the systems work, they will get there very quickly, but they will want to find out how to use the system to get the maximum benefit … it would be a real challenge for them, "says UBC. the political scientist Max Cameron.
WATCH: Rural / urban proportion (OR) via Elections B.C.
The dual proportional representation, for example, would force political parties to make unusual decisions, many of which may require several elections to fully understand the mechanisms.
"What are the implications of placing someone on the main candidate position, and someone else on the secondary candidate position … Where do you want to place your high school candidates? These are the kinds of questions that will be really new, "says Cameron.
RELATED: The group launches a referendum campaign for proportional representation
Graham challenges, however, the idea that the new proportional voting systems, such as the one he created in 2003, will offer a significantly different experience from that already used in countries like New Zealand and the United States. Germany.
WATCH: Dual Member Proportional (DMP) via Elections BC
He added that proportional representation aims, by design, to eliminate the kind of gaming maneuver that is found in the current majority voting system.
"Whatever the elector's choice, this vote will have a positive impact on his preferred choice of being elected. If it fails, the goal is also to ensure that there is no serious harm to the voter who votes his conscience, "says Graham.
Cameron adds that countries that have opted for proportional representation generally find that the effects are much less serious and last much longer than advocates and opponents claim.
The deadline to submit your vote on electoral reform to Elections BC is 16:30. Friday, November 30th.
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