This is true but when the vast majoriy see, "please mark three candidates", thats what they tend to do, whether they know what those people stand for or not.
Yes! To Fairer Votes
- Thread starter meghatronic
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This is true but when the vast majoriy see, "please mark three candidates", thats what they tend to do, whether they know what those people stand for or not.
Soldato
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It is relevant because voting methods are a reformation of the system, as universal suffrage was. You were trying to say that we shouldn't touch a system which has been in place for a long time, however it has already been touched multiple times and most people would agree it's been for the best!
Furthermore, it still is one man one vote so your point was invalid anyway.
And? It doesn't mean that you have to do so.
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I agree with megatronic.
If the instructions for wiring a plug says 'Connect the 'ground' wire' - 99.9% of people will do it despite the fact you don't need to!!
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Man of Honour
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A dictator would give the strongest government, should we reform to that?
Surely it's better to have a government that you definitely had a vote in electing?
I strongly disagree with the BNP and their policies, but for us to have a democratic state, their views should be represented - proportionally.
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Our current system is basically the 'least worst'.
The proposed system will just MASSIVELY help the lib dems as labour will put libdem as number 2. Tories will put libdem as number 2. NO tories will put Labour as number 2. NO Labour will put tories as number 2.
No wonder the libdems are screaming 'Pleeeeeaaase can we have it'!!
But if the greater number of people are happier with the liberal democrats as an "option", isn't that more democratic?
Fair point, but I would expect that any literature that comes out if a Yes vote is achieved will explain that you don't have to vote for all candidates if you don't wish. I'm actually surprised that the ballot papers don't say that you don't have to vote for all candidates.
For example, we use STV (where you rank candidates) in our Local Government Elections and the top of the ballot paper says the following -
"To vote:
Write the figure 1 in the box next to candidate you most wish to be elected.
Write the figure 2 next to your second most preferred candidate.
Write the figure 3 next to your third preference, and so on.
You may express as many preferences or as few preferences as you wish,
but do not write the same figure more than once"
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Yes they are. If one person can express several preferences as to whom they'd like elected, then it isn't 'one person, one vote,' it's 'one person, several preferences' and the two are very different.
Democracy is people power. Interpretations of that have changed, sure (women got suffrage, civil rights movement in America) but democracy is still fundamentally power from the people, everybody who can have a say, has one. Not several bleated opinions for fringe politics because they wanted to count to five.
PR would be far better but i'm voting YES to AV. Partly due to the very fact they left the PR option off as they knew it would win and wouldn't keep them in power.
Any system that let Tony Blair win an election on just 35% of the vote and govern the country outright needs to change.
Any system that let Tony Blair win an election on just 35% of the vote and govern the country outright needs to change.
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Yet the Tory's got 36.1% this time....
What makes you think that would change?
AV will elect the first person to reach 50% of votes, but that isn't necessarily 50% of first preference votes. AV just makes the results look more democratic.
Under AV a government could be elected with 35% of first preferences, the rest being made up of second, third, forth etc preferences. This hasn't made the process intrinsically more democratic, it's just altered the percentage of votes.
I'm confused (dont bother, I know
), who has sent out the pamphlets?Surely we all should receive a pamphlet from the Electoral Committee (or whoever is responsible for these things) explaining both systems equally, and then we should then get a vote on which system we want. Not a yes or no vote, but a FPTP or AV vote.
