cityvote.ca

Published: Saturday, November 22, 2008

Dear Editor:

The results of the election for Burnaby city councillors once again shows us that we use one of the worst possible electoral systems.

The Burnaby Citizens' Association received 52.6 per cent of the votes, while the other candidates received 47.4 per cent of the votes.

The others received almost half of the popular vote, yet the BCA's candidates got 100 per cent of the council seats. A fair voting system would have yielded a completely different result.

The problem is inherent in the block-voting system used and in this case was exacerbated by vote-splitting.

It can easily be fixed by the use of preferential ballots, in which voters rank the candidates 1, 2, 3, etc., and the ballots are readily counted using the single transferable vote (STV).

This system is fair to both voters and parties and was recommended for use in B.C. provincial elections by the B.C. Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. City councillors are unlikely to voluntarily change a system that got them elected. We are stuck in a trap in which there is no easy way out. Solutions, please.

David Huntley, Fair Voting Burnaby/New Westminster, Burnaby