WHO would become B.C.'s premier if the election were decided with a different voting system?
As the May 14 election looms, researchers from UBC, Université Laval and the University of Montreal are embarking on an online study to figure out how B.C.'s results might shift and how voters would vote under the single transferable vote system or by utilizing proportional representation.
"It allows us to understand . . . the motives and constraints that electors have when they actually go to the ballot box," said UBC political science teacher and Votes BC project researcher Allan Craigie.
Visitors to the Votes BC website will be asked to cast an STV ballot, choosing from candidates in their own riding as well as nearby constituencies. As the preferred voting method in Ireland, the STV asks voters to rank at least three candidates in order of preference. Votes are then entered into a mathematical formula that utilizes a number of counts designed to give equal weight to each ballot. As candidates are eliminated from contention, the second and third choices gain importance.
Proportional representation eliminates local ridings, asking voters to cast their ballots for parties which then receive a percentage of seats roughly equal to their amount of votes.
Craigie is hoping 10,000 B.C. volunteers vote online using both voting systems as well as B.C.'s first past the post method.
All votes will be anonymous, according to Craigie, and the results will be posted within a few days of the election.
The aim of the study, which is part of an international research project called Making Electoral Democracy Work, is intended to fill the gaps in our understanding of democracy.
"We all practise democracy differently," said Craigie. "It's really what works for the people within that society."
While the first past the post system has the advantage of both simplicity and in creating a link between an individual and their constituency, Craigie cautions there is also a distortion effect, as B.C. parties have won the election despite losing the popular vote.
Part of the purpose of the study is to ensure that if British Columbians choose to keep the first past the post system, they do so with a full understanding of the alternatives.
"There may not be an immediate effect for the voter, but it increases the overall society's knowledge of how democracy works," Craigie said.
Visitors to the website are asked to select their riding before casting their ballots using each method between May 1 and 14.
Online voters who prefer not to specify their constituency are assigned a random riding in which to vote.
For more information or to participate, visit votesbc.org.
