With barely a coffee shop mention, and drowned out by e-gaming, school realignment and byelections; any consideration of election process amendment is all but neglected.
Islanders are habitually slow to adopt change. Whether round-abouts, Plan B infrastructure, or the fixed link, once change occurs it’s hard to imagine life prior to progressive imposition.
Today, the electoral reform discussion is upon us, not just provincially but federally as well. Positions are cementing, and as we enter the final weeks leading up to the vote expect rhetoric to intensify. Interest groups on all sides will mobilize; likely causing increased confusion and paralysis amongst voters.
Largely silent from the conversation are the voices of sitting members, political parties and block constituents such as business. The Fraser Institute has many opinions on the subject, one of the more interesting is the potential for increased spending in a post reformed environment: “Countries with PR electoral systems had average central government spending of 29.2 per cent (of GDP) compared to 23.5 per cent in majoritarian/plurality countries.”
The unspoken fear is loss of control. Political bodies may lose influence if the system is changed and perhaps control will be too widely dispersed. This in fact is the very intent of many proposed methods, resulting in the democratization of voting and representative governance. The present system has resulted in habitual massive debt accumulation; I find it hard to imagine government spending could possibly become more relaxed under a different system.
Elections P.E.I. have made voting more accessible than ever. Multiple methods of voting are supported from the tried and true pencil balloting to electronic voting. There is no reason not to engage, other than complete apathy for the process.
In the November ballot future voters will participate, citizens 16 and 17 years of age can vote, a first for our nation. This group is informed, participate en masse, and may be an important voting block of 7,000 odd voters. Youth may have the ability to influence our future if engagement remains as low as the plebiscite a decade earlier.
Without debating merits of any particular proposition, the democratic opportunity is available for every citizen to consider electoral options. Even with a voter turnout consistent to our provincial elections, results will be so fragmented government will not have a clear mandate to endorse change.
Status quo is the easiest and most likely default of this process, but making an informed decision when considering the methods under which we are governed would be precedent setting within our federation.
As an acknowledged contrarian, I feel there are better options to our present model; ones which can serve both democracy and the progressive advancement of our province. As with any ballot cast, this decision is an important one and we should all become informed of our choices and make an educated decision on how we want to see our electoral process continue into the future.
I think any real change is unlikely, but participation in the process is fundamentally critical, and everyone has an obligation to become informed, engaged and participate.
Blake Doyle is The Guardian's small business columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].