First past post fails in civic elections

Dear Editor: Re: Mayoral contender’s wife couldn’t vote for him (The Daily Courier, Oct. 23)

You don’t have to look far to find examples of how our first-past-thepost (FPTP) electoral system fails voters.

From the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which Donald Trump won despite getting roughly three million fewer votes than his opponent; to the recent provincial election in Ontario, which delivered 100 per cent of the power for the next four years to a Progressive Conservative caucus that attracted roughly 41 per cent of the popular vote; to the millions of voters in New Brunswick and Quebec who have also seen their votes ignored this year and are now ruled by legislatures that don’t even come close to reflecting the popular vote.

Examples of the failure of FPTP are everywhere, including in the results of Saturday’s local elections in B.C. In Vancouver, a mayoral race that boasted 21 candidates and attracted almost 174,000 ballots ended in victory for a candidate who attracted 28.7 per cent of the popular vote and defeat for his closest competitor, who attracted 28.2 per cent of the popular vote.

But perhaps the best example is right in The Daily Courier’s backyard, in Peachland, where the mayoral race ended in a tie and, pending the outcome of a recount, could actually be decided by choosing the winner’s name from a hat.

It’s no wonder voter turnout is at historical lows in most communities and young people are disengaged from electoral politics. You have to ask yourself, who is really winning under FPTP? Certainly not the voters.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Between now and Nov. 30, British Columbians have the chance to choose an electoral system that gives every vote equal weight; that encourages collaboration and transparency in decision-making; that reduces inequality in communities; that results in higher voter engagement, increased voter satisfaction, and a more robust democracy. That electoral system is proportional representation. And we know it can deliver because many of the countries that Canadians look to as models of values and lifestyle we cherish and aspire to use PR: Scandinavian and Western European democracies, Iceland and New Zealand to name a few.

I wish the voters of Peachland and both mayoral candidates the best of luck as they deal with the aftermath of another FPTP failure. It doesn’t have to be this way. For me, the choice is clear and compelling and that’s why the BCGEU is encouraging our members, and all working people, to vote “yes” to PR and put the power of our democracy where it belongs, with the voters. Stephanie Smith, president, BC Government and Service Employees’ Union