Ranked ballot would unite us

Re Electoral reform issue gets a new push, Sept. 11 With great change comes great risk. But a much smaller change to our voting system could make things much better. Ranked ballots would ensure that a majority of a riding’s voters would agree on who would represent them. Vote splitting would not be an issue.

Proportional representation (PR) in a diverse country such as Canada has great risks. We could have many parties based on religion, region, gender, ethnicity and single issues, in addition to traditional parties. It would divide an already very diverse country. PR could mean permanent minorities with constant bickering by alpha-personality party leaders.

The ranked ballot helps to unite people. The parties need to think about how they can make themselves a second or third choice, how they can be a bigger tent and work for all Canadians. Whereas other systems including PR are concerned about pleasing their base.

With ranked ballot, the people, not overly ambitious politicians, determine the representative and the political compromises. Joe Polito, Toronto