Electoral Reform completely partisan
The reason why electoral reform has a very low chance of happening is because the body in power that is able to make changes will not want to change the system that got it elected, unless if they know their departure is certain in the next election. Even though the BC Liberals are struggling in the polls, they know that any changes to the existing system are more likely to hurt their long term chances for power, thus the status quo is maintained.
There is also a more complex situation, a minority government, that could also lead to electoral reform. It is currently unlikely to happen in this province.
The Green Party did a release about their desired elements of electoral reform. The applicable snippet in their release is:
The Green Party recommends that the following changes be studied and implemented:
• Implement optional electronic voting within a fully secure system that safeguards personal privacy.
• If after the first general election in BC employing optional electronic voting, there is not a significant improvement in voter participation, study other ways to improve voter turnout, including mandatory voting.
• Implement electoral finance reform to eliminate corporate and union donations, to cap the amount of individual donations, to restrict individual donations to residents of BC, and to include a modest per-vote grant to political parties.
• Return to 25 signatures for nomination of a candidate for MLA (the number needed in 2005); the requirement for 75 signatures penalizes all parties, but especially small parties. Even 50 signatures would be preferable to 75.
• Return to a deposit of $100 for candidates for MLA; again, $250 is more challenging for smaller parties, discourages independents from running and represents a much larger percentage of total campaign costs for small campaigns.
• Allow candidates to open the candidate bank account as soon as they are registered as a standing nominee and also to issue receipts for income tax purposes as soon as they are a standing nominee. Candidates for smaller parties without the central party resources of the large parties (which can more easily accept donations and distribute them to constituencies) are at a disadvantage in funding their campaigns because they cannot issue receipts locally for donations until after the writ is dropped and their candidate account established, leaving a mere four weeks to fundraise at the local level.
If you read the bullet-points, it is a laundry list of items how the electoral system can be changed to benefit the Green Party, to the detriment of other parties.
It is not surprising that most people, seeing this list, will recognize it as partisan fluff. The Green Party would have had much more credibility in stating up-front that their desired form of electoral reform will benefit them, and that their goal is to be part of a minority government.
(March 24, 2010 @ 13:23):
The Green Party has it right. The election campaign now starts 60 + days before the writ is even dropped. The BC Liberals have DOUBLED the per candidate allowable campaign threshold to 140K per riding. The only pre-election campaign signage and promotion, that the general electorate witnessed in the 2009 BC Election was that of the BC Campbell Liberals. Even the NDP couldn’t afford the dollars to play that game of dirty pool in the last election. I suggest that, the allowable campaign threshold be lowered to 50K Total Max per candidate. And the window for collecting campaign contributions be extended, to 6 months prior to the official writ dropping. That BC implement secure electronic voting options, for all eligible BC residents. Put an end to the parachuting of candidates, and place residency restrictions on were the eligable candidate may run, his or her riding only, and limit candidate nominations requirements to two notorized, and registered voting constituent residents.
That’s electoral reform and true Democracy! Something grossly lacking in British Columbia.
Alan Clarke INDEPENDENT