Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Your article 2022 Ballot to Include Question Regarding Ranked Choice Voting came to my attention today when it was posted to a Facebook group devoted to the discussion of Proportional Representation in Canada.
In it Municipal Clerk Matt Smith made references to proportional representation several times. Ranked Choice voting, when used to elect a mayor or individual ward councillors, does not lead to proportional representation. It is still winner-take-all system like our current system — First Past the Post. Proportional Representation can only be used when electing representative bodies such as a town council or provincial legislature.
Ranked ballots are a tool that is used in more than one kind of electoral system. In this case, the Clerk is just making things more confusing than they need to be by referring to proportional representation in his comments when it appears that is not on the table at all.
I invite your readers and your reporter to join us on Facebook if they would like to learn more about proportional representation.
Regards,
Arleigh Luckett, Administrator
Proportional Representation Canada Discussion Group (Facebook)
