Canada needs ranked ballot voting in federal elections

An editorial in the Toronto Star says Toronto needs a ranked ballot voting system in city elections. It says ensuring a candidate wins with over 50% of the vote is a “far better way to proceed”:

“The first-past-the-post method used in general elections simply awards victory to whoever attracts the most ballots, regardless of how low this support might be. That lets people squeak into office with minimal backing.”

Think federal

Clearly the same is true of federal elections.

In the 2011 election, Harper won dozens of center-left ridings due to vote splitting. According to a recent poll, Harper would still win the election even though he is 5 points behind the Liberals — thanks to our primitive voting system.

The Star has made itself clear it hates Proportional Representation with a passion. But there's no reason they should not get behind Justin Trudeau's proposal to bring PV ranked ballot to federal elections.

How it works

“Here’s how it works: Instead of selecting just one candidate for office electors mark their top choice but also their second, third and fourth preference, and so on. If nobody achieves an immediate majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is struck off and second-choices on that person’s ballots are issued to remaining contenders. Eliminations and transfers continue until one person emerges with more than 50 per cent.”

Conclusion

It's time we embrace real democracy. That means an actual majority of voters is represented in government — not a 39% minority the vast majority is opposed to.