Winner Takes All!? What about democracy?
On October 10th, Ontario residents will have the option to change the way they vote. There is an important ‘referendum’ choice that will appear on the ballot for this year’s provincial elections, and not knowing what it is might sink us back in the Jurassic period of voting for years to come.
The acronym to remember is MMP, Mixed Member Proportional. And it works like this. Say you really like Green Party, but you think that the member in your riding is a schmuck, or simply like the exuberance or the NDP leader in your riding. You want to vote Green for the province, but would rather have your MPP be the ultra-savvy NDP cyclist with a garden in their front yard. Currently, you’d have to make a choice, for the good of the party, or the good of your neighbourhood. This system is called First Pass The Post (FPTP). By voting yes to Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), you will have a say in both your riding, AND your province. Vote the way you want to, and make Canada a REAL democracy.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/OntarioVotes2007/News/2007/09/14/4496444-sun.html