Here at Pair Vote, we’ll be doing two rounds of voter-matching before the May 2 election, and the first round is taking place on Monday, April 25.

If you haven’t registered for a swap yet, NOW is the time to do so, at http://pairvote.ca/ … and if you HAVE registered for a swap, NOW is the time to encourage your friends and colleagues — especially those who live in critical swing ridings — to consider signing up as well.

In an “open letter” to supporters and friends of the Green Party, here’s a concrete example of why our numbers – and the locations of our swappers – matter greatly:

Right now, we have more than 1000 Green voters who want to help Elizabeth May get elected in Saanich-Gulf Islands … but we only have 15 non-Green-but-Green-friendly voters (generally Liberal and NDP) signed up to swap votes in her riding.  Unless this changes, we are limited to a total of 15 votes that can be swapped in favor of Ms May.

How can we fix this, and effect change?

If you are a Green Party supporter, appeal to your Liberal and NDP friends living in Saanich-Gulf Islands.  Ask them to PLEASE consider a swap.  We can make their votes count in critical ridings for their preferred parties (for example, Burnaby-Douglas for the NDP; or Kingston and the Islands for the Liberal Party). These swaps give Ms May a better chance at finally winning the Green Party a seat in the House of Commons, and have the added benefit of also increasing chances for the NDP’s Kennedy Stewart in Burnaby-Douglas and the Liberal Party’s Ted Hsu in Kingston and the Islands.   It’s win-win-win, all around!

Remember: our first round of pairings is taking place on Monday, April 25.  NOW is the time to talk to your friends and colleagues about vote swapping.

If your friends need help understanding how all of this works, point them to our Pair Vote site, or to our FAQ.

‘Pair Vote’ aims to help make strategic votes count

CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Thu. Apr. 14 2011 8:57 AM ET

To read the article on Canada AM’s site click here.

By JAMIE LONG, OTTAWA SUN

Last Updated: April 13, 2011 5:54pm

Some worried Ottawa-area voters hope shipping their vote elsewhere will give their voice some clout.

Katya Duhamel, 31, said she has resorted to Vote Pair, a volunteer-run campaign that pairs Canadians so they can swap votes.

“I strongly believe that we need electoral reform in Canada and pair voting is a short term solution to our broken system,” said Duhamel. “I want to put the power back in my vote.”

She said she believes voting for the Green Party in her riding of Nepean-Carleton won’t make a difference because that’s where Conservative incumbent Pierre Pollievre seeks a fourth consecutive term.

Vote Pair made its debut in the 2008 federal election, with 6,000 people signing up and almost half of those finding a match for the swap, according to founder Gerry Kirk.

Jean Le Clerc, 36, is one of the new believers after catching on to Vote Pair a few weeks ago.

He said swapping his NDP vote with another riding may cure his feeling of helplessness in the Pontiac riding.

That’s where Lawrence Cannon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, is seeking term number three.

“I kept feeling that my vote didn’t count, it didn’t matter what I did,” said Le Clerc, who previously lived in Gatineau, where the Bloc Quebecois reigned supreme. “I got frustrated with that.”

But Kirk said the popular vote still didn’t represent Canadians well, so he once again wants to focus on swing ridings, where close races could be impacted by swapped votes.

Vote Pair reported one riding in Edmonton and another on Victoria Island were affected by the movement in 2008.

But Elections Canada is also warning voters to be cautious with their vote.

“Encouragement to vote in a particular way is not prohibited under the Canada Elections Act,” said Diane Benson, who reminded voters there is no guarantee a swap will be carried out and it can’t be verified.

“They (voters) might be subject to misrepresentation and people acting under multiple or different identities,” she said.

Duhamel argued there is communication between two swappers.

Le Clerc, a self-proclaimed avid voter, said he will live with the consequences, if there are any.

“At this point, I’m so fed up and disillusioned I’m willing to take that risk,” he said, admitting his girlfriend isn’t quite ready to trust others with her vote.

Jamie.long@sunmedia.ca

Click here to read the article on the Ottawa Sun page.

The pair vote team is looking for help!  If you are interested in joining us and volunteering some time please get in touch.  We definitely need some help in specific areas:

Are you a great programmer or coder who can volunteer some time to help us re-vamp our pair voting system?

Excited about the election…keyed up about pair voting?!?  If so, consider volunteering some time to help us with promotions!

If so, drop us a line on our Facebook page,  leave a comment on our website www.votepair.ca or e-mail us @ pairvote@gmail.com

The writ has been dropped, Canadians are heading back to the polls, and Pair Vote is back for the 2011 Canadian Federal election.  We want to continue the great success and positive momentum gained in the BC provincial election and in the 2008 federal election, helping Canadians make their votes count towards creating a Parliament that more accurately reflects the popular vote.

Vote swapping is completely legal and effective.  We will continue the vote swapping movement until a truly democratic voting system is implemented in Canada and our existence is rendered unnecessary.

What kind of person gets involved with pair voting?

If this describes your situation for this election:

- You are convinced the person or party representative you want to vote for won’t get elected

- You are tired of your vote not being represented in Parliament

- You want to do something about it

Then consider pairing your vote with someone in another riding where your ballot could make a difference. Pair voting has been employed in the United States since the 2000 election, and Pair Vote was first established to help pair Canadian voters for the 2008 federal election.

Why does Pair Vote exist?

The voting system is the heart of representative democracy. It’s the tool citizens use to create government by the people, for the people, of the people.

A good voting system gives every citizen an equal vote. When every citizen’s vote has equal value, then parliaments can reflect the political will of the people.

If the voting system ignores or distorts what voters say, then democracy is compromised. Parliaments are not representative and governments cannot be properly accountable.

This is the core problem with the Canadian political system. Our 21st century democracy is hobbled with a dysfunctional 12th century voting system.

Here is how it works

1. You go to www.pairvote.ca to register, stating your name, riding, preferred party to vote for, and other parties you are willing to vote for.

Example:

Joe Smith
Algoma-Manitoulin Riding
I want to vote for Green
I am willing to vote for NDP, Liberal

2. Later on, you will be paired up with someone in a riding where your Green vote has a better chance of making a difference.

You’ll have time to talk with this person and decide if you want to go ahead with pairing up your vote.

It’s easy to do, it’s legal, and it helps empower you as a voter.  It’s ridiculous that voters sometimes have to jump through hoops to make their vote count.  In all honesty, we wish we didn’t have to do this, because we’re volunteers and we’re very tired… but our current electoral system is not functioning very well.  For more information on how the First Past The Post system  is failing Canadians, why not take a look at what our friends at Fair Vote Canada have to say?

People have been asking for it, so we’re resurrecting it. Sign up to be notified when the pair vote system is ready for registration:

I’ll be matching voters as best as I can on Saturday, so that there is enough time for people to contact each other ahead of vote day. That makes Friday the last day to sign up!

Help me do a good job of matching by reviewing the potential matches and adding your comments.

What sources are you using to find the close races? I’ve been looking around, but haven’t found much, just this:

• http://battlegroundbc.com/races-to-watch/
• http://bc2009.com/swing-seats/

A roundup of comments submitted by vote swappers:

Kevin Kruger (the worker whacker). Do I need to further explain?

Liberal will most likely win in my riding and my vote will be useless.

I want a Green Party candidate to win in some riding. I am frustrated that a party with a decent percentage of the popular vote has no MLAs or MPs elected.

I support a fair voting system, particularly, BC-STV, as recommended by the Citizens’ Assembly.  Neither of the two major parties supports this, so I don’t want to vote for either one, but a vote for a Green in my riding (Gordon Campbell’s home riding) would be wasted.  I would be prepared to support Mel Lehan (NDP) if I knew that my vote was going to a Green candidate elsewhere, preferably one with a chance of winning (Jane Sterk?  Damian Kettlewell?).

I’m sick of Carole James being my MLA, she doesn’t do anything for us. Ideally I want to vote Green, and would love to swap with a Liberal from Jane Sterk’s riding. She has the best chance for a Green to become an MLA

Well I want somebody in WV-S2S to vote Green for me and in exchange I will vote for a Conservative since West Van-S2S has no Conservatives

Need STV not Liberal – NDP pendulum.

I’m surrounded by people in my riding whom I have nothing in common with and who vote en masse for policies that I am ideologically opposed to and find morally and socially reprehensible. I can’t get my voice heard.  My MLA will always be a shmuck IMHO under the current voting system.

People want real choice, and their votes to matter. That’s why STV must pass. There may not be another chance for real vote reform in our generation.