One of such downfalls is that electoral districts, one of the most essential parts of the voting system, have many flaws. Electoral districts are essential because each district has an election and the party that wins the most districts then wins the election. The first of such flaws is gerrymandering. The dictionary definition of gerrymandering is, “To divide [a geographic area] into voting districts in a way that gives one party an unfair advantage in elections” (“Gerrymandering”). The term gerrymandering was first coined in the 1800s when the governor of Massachusetts named Gerry changed the electoral districts purely to win an election. These electoral districts ended up looking like salamanders and so the term “to gerrymander” was created
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Tactical voting is described as “casting a ballot not for the person you want to vote for, but for the candidate best positioned to defeat the candidate you most dislike” (“The pros and cons”). This is extremely common. For example, in 2015 the New Democratic Party ran on the platform of “Stop Harper," as they believed that the vast majority of Canadians did not want Stephen Harper as their Prime Minister anymore and were tired of him. The party were right and although they did not win the election, they still managed to ensure that Harper was no longer the Prime Minister of Canada. Not only does tactical voting happen in Canada but also, tactical voting occurs abroad. For example, Marco Rubio, ex-presidential candidate, encouraged voters to vote for John Kasich, another candidate, in his home state of Ohio. He did this purely to take votes away from the frontrunner Donald Trump (“Donald Trump rival Marco”). In response, it was expected that Kasich would also release a statement telling his supporters to vote for Rubio in Rubio’s home state of Florida; however, none arrived. Tactical voting does not actually represent the true feelings of the voters because they vote for who they think will win, not actually who they would like to win. Erin McKenzie, a hard-working and politically active Canadian, said this, “Honestly, I would have loved to see the Communists in power. I’m a pure socialist. However, …show more content…
But most recently it was brought up in the 2015 Canadian federal election. The Liberals policy position is this, “We are committed to ensuring that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system. We will convene an all-party Parliamentary committee to review a wide variety of reforms, such as ranked ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting, and online voting” (“Electoral Reform”). There may even be a referendum to hear the voices and opinion of everyday Canadians. Canadians need to be informed of both the positives and negatives of the first past the post voting system. There are significant flaws with the electoral districts, candidates do not have to win a majority in order to win the election and this system encourages tactical voting. With over 60% of voters not being represented by the current majority government, the process of reforming the electoral system should begin soon to give these people a voice in their government (“Results of the Canadian federal election,
Tactical voting is described as “casting a ballot not for the person you want to vote for, but for the candidate best positioned to defeat the candidate you most dislike” (“The pros and cons”). This is extremely common. For example, in 2015 the New Democratic Party ran on the platform of “Stop Harper," as they believed that the vast majority of Canadians did not want Stephen Harper as their Prime Minister anymore and were tired of him. The party were right and although they did not win the election, they still managed to ensure that Harper was no longer the Prime Minister of Canada. Not only does tactical voting happen in Canada but also, tactical voting occurs abroad. For example, Marco Rubio, ex-presidential candidate, encouraged voters to vote for John Kasich, another candidate, in his home state of Ohio. He did this purely to take votes away from the frontrunner Donald Trump (“Donald Trump rival Marco”). In response, it was expected that Kasich would also release a statement telling his supporters to vote for Rubio in Rubio’s home state of Florida; however, none arrived. Tactical voting does not actually represent the true feelings of the voters because they vote for who they think will win, not actually who they would like to win. Erin McKenzie, a hard-working and politically active Canadian, said this, “Honestly, I would have loved to see the Communists in power. I’m a pure socialist. However, …show more content…
But most recently it was brought up in the 2015 Canadian federal election. The Liberals policy position is this, “We are committed to ensuring that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system. We will convene an all-party Parliamentary committee to review a wide variety of reforms, such as ranked ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting, and online voting” (“Electoral Reform”). There may even be a referendum to hear the voices and opinion of everyday Canadians. Canadians need to be informed of both the positives and negatives of the first past the post voting system. There are significant flaws with the electoral districts, candidates do not have to win a majority in order to win the election and this system encourages tactical voting. With over 60% of voters not being represented by the current majority government, the process of reforming the electoral system should begin soon to give these people a voice in their government (“Results of the Canadian federal election,