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?
