Room to improve our democracy

Dear editor: Our democracy has evolved over the past nearly 250 years to what we have today, but it is not as democratic as some other democracies.

In B.C. we have a chance to update our voting system to proportional representation. pro rep is used by over 90 countries – some since the early 20th Century.

If pro rep is chosen by 50 per cent of one of voters, a non-partisan legislative committee will be involved in the necessary rearrangement of current ridings and nearby districts.

This will ensure that votes from these adjacent areas will then mirror the percentage of popular votes for various parties in the province as a whole. Not all democracies are equally democratic, and ours would be more proportionally democratic if we change to proportional representation.

This will probably be the last opportunity for my generation to test drive this well respected voting system in B.C., and demonstrate its effectiveness for the rest of Canada.

Please do not mail your ballot now, with the mail strike. Put it in the drop box at Service BC by Nov. 28 to ensure that it reaches the Elections BC office by the Nov. 30 deadline.

If you did not receive a ballot in the mail, they are also available at Service BC. So it’s not too late for you to be part of this province-wide referendum to improve democracy in B.C. Lori Landon Penticton

Vote for healthy electoral change! Mark your ballot tes and get it in the mail! Or drop it at a Service BC office. It needs to arrive by Nov. 30. Dianne Bersea Penticton