Quote:
Originally Posted by Weitz
People voting for who they think is best (or whatever they want) is ineffective?
Wasn't voter turn out like 40%?. What would this new system get? 15%?
|
The votes are ineffective because they end up not having representation. And this works both ways, it's not a left or right issue. If you look at the mayoral vote, a ranked ballot may very well have had Farkas win, in Ward 7, probably someone more progressive.
It's just about having the majority opinion of the members of a ward represented, given that the difference between platforms can be fairly small between candidates. On the extreme end, imagine 11 candidates, 10 of them supporting densification, and one wanting a ward to say the same with no change. So 90% of the votes could get split between 10 candidates, all representing a densification view, while the other person with 10% of the votes wins. You can see how the vast majority end up not being represented. Now, maybe you think that is just fine. I don't really think that's healthy democracy.