Sunday, July 29, 2007
This is Not Promising
So the video put out by Elections Ontario/ Citizens' Assembly on how the new electoral system works misrepresents the referendum question. Now, it is possible that the video was produced before the ballot question was put out but I still think it is a poor indication of how this education campaign is going to be run. I wish it was a yes/no question, but it's not.
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3 comments:
You should be giving the voters of Ontario a bit more credit, Aaron. What difference does it make whether you word the ballot saying "Do you want the new proposed MMP electoral system, Yes or No?" or whether you say "Do you choose to keep the current system or choose the proposed new one?"
Voters are intelligent enough to figure out both essentially mean the same thing.
The referendum question is very clear. Voters have multiple avenues to understand the question: existing vs. alternative system; FPTP vs. MMP; the CA proposal (agree/disagree).
What is more contraversial is that in 2003, Dalton McGuinty promised to put the CA's recommendation to a referendum, but NOT with the 60/60 threshold.
I think he has a lot of explaining to do to justify the referendum thresholds in light of the fact that powerful interests within his own party have been vocal opponents of ALL forms of proportional representation (including Greg Sorbara and Bob Delaney).
This suggests that there was a significant party bias, even before the referendum thresholds were set.
I am writing to clarify your posting of July 30 indicating that Elections Ontario sponsored the Citizens Assembly video on Youtube. That is not the case. The Elections Ontario public education program concerning the October 10, 2007 referendum will launch shortly and is designed to deliver impartial educational information to Ontario voters to assist them in making their choice based on their individual priorities and considerations.
Thank you
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