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Ten Great Reasons to Vote for
Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) on October 10

On October 10, you can make democracy work better in Ontario by changing the way we vote. CUPE Ontario is asking every one of its 220,000 members to vote YES for MMP. It’s time that we had fairer results and better representation of parties that support working people.

1.  One ballot, two votes
 With the MMP voting system, you cast a vote for a local candidate AND for the political party of your choice. You now have a separate vote for your preferred party – a vote that elects at-large candidates from that party.

2.  More power to voters:  everyone matters
 Even if your chosen candidate doesn’t win, your party vote will still help elect at-large candidates – meaning that every party will compete for your vote no matter where you live. In every country where proportionality has been adopted, voter turn out and participation are higher.
 
 
3.  Fairer results in elections
Under the current system, election results are always distorted. One party may get 40% of the votes and win 60% of the seats. Another party may get 20% of the votes and no seats.  MMP produces fairer results, meaning parties get only the seats and power they deserve – no more, no less.
 
4. The ‘outcome’ is directly related to what ‘goes in’
The votes of the people are what ‘go in’ to any election. With MMP, all of these votes count in terms of the outcome in the make-up of the legislature. If a party wins 40% of the vote, then they get 40% of the seats in the legislature. That would include the riding the seats that they won, and if those don’t add up to 40%, then that party’s MPPs would be topped up from the list of 39 additional list candidates that they put forward in the election.

5. No more phoney majorities
 Under the current system, Ontarians are often governed by a majority government that the majority actually voted against. Under MMP, majority governments can only be formed by those who were elected by a majority of voters.
 
6. Stronger, more diverse representation
 Because voters will have both riding representatives and at-large representatives, every voter will be better represented and quite possibly able to call on more than one elected official in their region for assistance. Proportional systems help elect a more diverse range of candidates—more women and visible minorities—because parties learn that diverse lists of at-large candidates usually attract more votes.
 
 
7.  Less concentration of power means better government Because fairer results mean a single party will less often form a majority government, MMP forces parties to negotiate and compromise and work with one another for the good of the people.. This means that cabinets will often include members from more than one party, and the premier and party leaders will have to negotiate and compromise rather than dictate and grandstand like they do now.
 
8.  No more negative or ‘strategic’ voting
 In our current system, voters can be trapped in ridings dominated by a party they don’t support, or fooled into believe that they should vote for someone they don’t support so they can block another candidate from winning.  With MMP, you can always cast an effective vote to elect at-large candidates from your preferred party.

9.  Regular voters recommended MMP
 The proposed MMP system is not being recommended by government or political parties. The independent Ontario Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, a body composed of 103 regular voters, studied and consulted for eight months on the best voting system for Ontario voters. It’s a system recommended by a group of well-informed voters who chose it because it helps empower voters.
 
10.  Old guard doesn’t like it
 The status quo is jealously protected by an old guard who enjoy the way the system marginalizes most voters and concentrates power. The MMP system empowers voters, give more choice, fairer results and stronger representation – not what the old guard wants, but what all Ontarians deserve.

You deserve better government.
Vote for MMP 


Click here for The Citizens’ Assemby Video- Democracy at Work
Click here to view the youth video on MMP “Of the People”
For Equal Voice’s new song on MMP and women in the legislature, click here

Get detailed information on MMP from the files below, and download these factsheets to give to others. You can also get information at the following websites:

www.VoteforMMP.ca   Fair Vote Canada official site
www.citizensassemby.gov.on.ca Citizens’ Assembly that recommended MMP
www.yourbigdecision.ca Elections Ontario
 

The Ballot Question

Which electoral system should Ontario use to elect members to the provincial legislature? Quel système electoral l’Ontario devrait-il utiliser pour élire les deputes provinciaux à l’Assemblée legislative?

·  The existing electoral system (First-past-the-post)/ L’acturel système électoral (système de la majorité relative)

·  The alternative electoral system proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly (Mixed Member Proportional)/ L’autre système electoral proposé par l’Assemblée des citoyens (système de représentation proportionnelle mixte)

Related Files

Category: 2007-2014 Archives