32 / OGRA MILESTONES FALL 2014 RENEWING LOCAL DEMOCRACY THROUGH ELECTORAL REFORM

Ontarians looking to cast their ballot in the 2018

municipal elections may notice a big change at the polls.

Th e current electoral system used in Ontario’s municipal

elections, the traditional fi rst-past-the-post system, may

soon be out the door courtesy of Toronto City Council and

the Government of Ontario’s latest eff orts at democratic

renewal.

In June of last year, Toronto City Council voted to ask the

provincial government for permission to switch from

fi rst-past-the-post to a ranked ballot system, more

specifi cally to an instant runoff voting system. Th is request

was acknowledged and put forward as a private member’s

bill by Scarborough—Guildwood MPP Mitzie Hunter. At the

time, it was rumoured that the government was hoping to

extend this option to all of Ontario’s municipalities. Bill

166, the Toronto Ranked Ballot Elections Act, 2014, was

halted by the spring election and it is unknown whether it

will be re-introduced.

Th e bill will be reintroduced and expanded to include all

Ontario municipalities, and will signifi cantly change the way

citizens elect their local representatives. Rather than simply

voting for one candidate, voters will rank all candidates on

the ballot based on their preference. If no candidate receives

over 51% of the votes on the fi rst ballot, the candidate with

the fewest votes is then automatically eliminated and their

votes are distributed to the other candidates based on who

voters ranked second on their ballot. Th is process is then

repeated until a candidate receives a majority of the votes.

Th e ranked ballot system encourages citizens to vote for who

they truly believe is the best candidate and will eliminate

strategic voting in its current form. Presently, many simply

Renewing Local Democracy Through Electoral ReformBy Th omas Barakat

OGRA MILESTONES FALL 2014 / 33RENEWING LOCAL DEMOCRACY THROUGH ELECTORAL REFORM

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vote for Candidate A to ensure that Candidate B doesn’t get

elected while they really preferred Candidate C. Under the

ranked ballot system, voters can rank all the candidates so

their true intentions would not be sacrifi ced in order to

prevent one candidate from winning. If their preferred

candidate lost on the fi rst ballot, their second choice would

then receive their vote. Strategic voting would only continue

to exist if it appeared that one candidate would win a

majority on the fi rst ballot. Citizens would fi nd it

increasingly diffi cult to argue that they stayed home on

Election Day because their vote wouldn’t make a diff erence.

In the fi rst-past-the-post system winners are

overcompensated while losers are undercompensated. A

party or candidate can win a “strong, stable, majority” with

39% of the vote – a minority of voters – then claim to rule

on behalf of all. Th e result is widespread civic disengagement

as many believe their voices are being shut out by the

democratic system. Under a ranked ballot system, the

candidate would need to secure a minimum of 50% of the

vote. Th is candidate would at least be able to claim that he/

she was chosen by the majority of voters – not just more

votes than the other candidates. His/her time in offi ce

would be viewed more legitimately – even by those who did

not rank them at the top of their ballot.

Campaigning would change dramatically under a ranked

ballot system as candidates would not want to alienate

voters who would potentially rank them second on their

ballot. Th is would discourage candidates from running

negative campaigns – especially against candidates who

share similar views. Critics of ranked balloting argue that it

will further encourage brokerage politics as candidates will

be forced to water down their platforms in an attempt to

appeal to more voters. Th e political centre would likely

become more crowded than it already is, and platforms

could become less diverse and/or bold.

By adopting a ranked ballot system, Ontario would be

following the lead of many jurisdictions across the globe

such as San Francisco and Oakland, California, Minneapolis

and Saint Paul, Minnesota, and London, England. In

Australia it is used at the federal level to elect the House of

Representatives. In Canada, all the major federal political

parties now use a form of ranked balloting to select their

leaders, with the most recent being Justin Trudeau in 2013.

Th e highest turnout in a federal election in the last one

hundred years was in 1963 when it was just under 80%. At

the municipal level the statistics are much worse. On

average about 40% of eligible voters show up at the polls to

elect the government that provides them the most services

and is most responsive to their problems. Democratic

renewal is an essential part of increasing voter turnout in

the long-term as it brings those who feel disenfranchised by

the current system back into the loop.

Th ere is much to be debated if the provincial government

re-introduces the bill halted by the election. Would Ontario

municipalities each choose whether to adopt this system

individually or would it be a blanket approach for the entire

province? Furthermore, if municipalities are given the

authority to alter their voting method, would they be forced

to select this particular type of ranked ballot voting or would

they be able to pursue another style of proportional

representation? What about moving to a system of at-large

municipal councillors like the City of Vancouver?

With the voter turnout rate continuously dropping and civic

engagement dropping to alarmingly low levels, elected

representatives should be considering ways to better engage

citizens if they wish to become relevant. Having a discussion

on democratic renewal is a great fi rst step in re-engaging

citizens in the long-term. However, until this discussion

turns into action many will continue to feel disenfranchised

by the fi rst-past-the-post system, and the divisive politics

that come along with it.