P.E.I., New Brunswick consider democratic reforms

Democratic reform is a hot topic these days. Here in the Maritimes, Prince Edward Island released a study in 2015 on “democratic renewal,” held public consultations and scheduled a November plebiscite to gauge public opinion. New Brunswick has just released its own report, which includes several considerations for reform.

The central question is the viability of the current electoral formula, which we know as “first-past-the-post.” This system elects the local candidate with the most votes. Most reasonable people seem to agree that this system contains pros and cons. The same is true of its many alternatives.

Proportional representation would resolve the problem of discrepancies between a political party’s share of legislative seats and its share of the popular vote. The current provincial Liberals, for example, hold two-thirds of legislative seats, yet won only 41 percent of the popular vote. Under PR, seat totals and vote percentages would be roughly the same.

PR also ensures that all votes count equally toward seat totals, and allows dissident voters in “safe” districts to more meaningfully support their chosen party.

However, proportional representation gives voters less control in deciding which party ultimately forms government. Jurisdictions that use this method frequently have intense negotiation periods after an election, in which political parties bargain to create a coalition government. Under first-past-the-post, meanwhile, the identity of the new government is almost always known on election night.

Oddly, neither the P.E.I. nor the New Brunswick study recommends PR as an option. Both include explanations of “preferential ballots” where voters would rank candidates, and counting second choices establishes a candidate with majority support. (One notes that preferential balloting would address none of the concerns from proponents of PR.) To its credit, the P.E.I. government has added PR options onto the November plebiscite, following the consultation period.

Controversially, New Brunswick’s paper suggests lowering the voting age to 16 from 18. Island MLA Sidney MacEwen has advocated same for P.E.I., which will allow 16- and 17-year olds to vote in the November plebiscite, perhaps as a “test run” for a similar reform in general elections.

Lowering the voting age is a bad idea. Voting is a constitutional right that the community affords to people on the basis of competence, maturity, and capacity to understand the stakes in casting a vote.

P.E.I. lowered its voting age from 21 to 18 in 1967, and New Brunswick followed in 1971. In making this change, our elected officials were essentially saying that 18-year-olds were comparable in the necessary qualities to 21-year-olds. By lowering the vote again, we would be saying that 16- and 17-year-olds are like 18-yearolds. But this is demonstrably not the case. These young adults cannot serve in the military, and are minors in the eyes of the justice system and elsewhere, when it comes to providing family tax breaks and social benefits.

Wherever these discussions lead, it is vital that the outcomes be reached via legitimate means – so that those who disagree with whatever outcomes emerge can nevertheless accept them. Any voting reforms should only be enacted with the consent of all political parties represented in the legislature. Failing this agreement, our elected bodies should turn the vote over to the people directly in binding referenda. It is only under these two circumstances that reforms to our current customs can be justified.