| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Who to vote for in the by-election | |
| Posted by: | David Fox | |
| Date/Time: | 17/07/07 16:22:00 |
| Penny wrote: >It should be mandatory< Not voting can be an expression of intent, whether it is apathy or disgust with all the options (it's just not a very effective protest). If there were to be mandatory voting, then every ballot paper would have to contain a box for "None of the above", which, if it got a majority, would force all parties to submit new candidates to another vote (after all, why should people be forced to vote unless they have some way of being heard). I'd prefer a system of proportional representation (and not the awful list system, which allows parties to pick who they want rather than giving voters a choice of individuals, as you get with the single transferable vote). That would at least mean that almost everyone's vote makes a difference. In a multimember constituency, as they have in Ireland, it also means that MPs have to pay more attention to their constituents, or they might not win next time (even if the share of the vote their party has stays the same). It's not perfect, and often results in coalitions (not necessarily a bad thing), but at least it is properly representative.... |