Do Our Votes Make a Difference?
Voting is very important. Giving your opinion on how you want your country run is necessary to having a democratic nation. Why then, do barely any young people vote? Whether it be not having enough time or being too lazy to go all the way down to the polls, the fact is that young people need to start voting. While most of the students of Bishop Allen aren’t old enough to vote right now, we will be able to in the next election. This is even more important because the possibility of a new voting system is becoming increasingly more likely.
Most people think that our current voting system, first past the post, is perfectly fine. In truth, however, it is a completely flawed system that leads to barely anyone actually getting the political representation that they want. First past the post just means the person or party with the most votes wins. It seems simple enough, but it leads to situations where voting for people other than the two main parties just splits the votes. Basically, first past the post is a terrible system that needs to be changed.
So what are the options? The first is ranked ballots, or Preferential voting. This involves the voter ranking party representatives by personal preference. In order for a party to win, they must have more than fifty percent of the votes. If no party has this, the ballots that ranked the party with the least votes as their first choice have their second choice counted instead. This continues until a party has at least fifty percent of the vote. This system is much fairer than first past the post and is a better political representation of the country.
The second option is Mixed Member Proportional, where people have two votes; one for their local MP and the other for the party itself. This system separates the MP’s from the party, meaning the voter can choose the MP they prefer regardless of their party while also supporting the party the voter prefers. This leads to a parliament more representative of what the people want. Both systems make what we vote on Election Day more relevant and representative, giving more of a chance to the smaller parties, as well as the option to actually vote for whoever you want.
While it will be another four years before we can all vote, young people need to think seriously about voting now. Hopefully, with the use of a more representative voting system and perhaps the introduction of online voting, every single Canadian, young or old, will cast their ballot on Election Day.
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