Voting

1. Voting In Canada and Around the World

2. The Least You Should Know • What is gerrymandering and how can it be fixed? • Explain the following voting systems: • First Past the Post • Preferential Voting • Mixed Member • Three ways governments impact you. • Who can vote in Canada. • How can do you vote in Canada. • List the alternative ways to vote in Canada.

3. Analysis of an Election Before you can understand voting you need to see the results so you know what we are talking about.

4. Actual Results of 2011 election The chart to the right shows the actual number of seats that each party won during the 2011 election.

5. The 2011 Federal Election To the right you will see a chart showing the popular vote (% of people) who voted for each of the major parties during the 2011 election.

6. One possible result of 2011 election The table to the right shows what the results of the 2011 federal election would be IF each party received the same percentage of seats as the percentage of votes that it won.

7. TheDifference The chart to the right shows the difference between the actual number of seats won and the number of seats that would have been won based on popular vote. So the question you should be asking is: Why is there a difference?

8. The answer is two fold: • That Canada decides who represents Canadians based on electoral districts not popular vote. The next twoslides electoral maps in Canada. • How Canadians set up those electoral districts will have a HUGE impact on who is elected.

11. Voting Systems The following slides show what type of electoral system Canada uses as well as several others that are used around the world. As always it is up to you to decide which one of these systems is best.

12. First Past the Post Voting (FPP) • The voter only votes for one candidate and whoever gets the highest number of votes is elected. • It is the easiest vote counting system to calculate results. • The winning candidate is the one who gains more votes than any other candidate, but not necessarily an absolute majority (50% + 1). • FPP is used in the United Kingdom, Canada, India, and the United States.

13. Two Round System (TRS) • The TRS is conducted in the same way as an FPP election and if a candidate receives an absolute majority of votes, they are elected. • If no candidate receives an absolute majority a second round of voting is conducted, often a week or two later and the winner of this round is declared elected. • The TRS is used in countries such as France, Mali, Togo, Egypt, Iran, Belarus and Ukraine.

14. Preferential Voting (PV) • Electors must rank all candidates by placing the number ‘1’ for their preferred candidate and consecutive numbers from ‘2’ for their 2nd choice, ‘3’ for their 3rd choice and so on until all candidates are numbered. • If no candidate has an absolute majority, the candidate with the lowest number of 1st preferences is eliminated, and their ballot papers are examined for 2nd preferences to be assigned to remaining candidates in the order as marked. • The totals are then checked and this process is repeated until one candidate has an absolute majority. • PVis used in the Australian federal House of Representatives and in Nauru.

15. List Proportional Representation (List PR) • List PR is used in multi-member electorates where votes are cast in order of preference for the parties which have registered a list of candidates. • Parties receive seats in proportion to their overall share of the total vote and winning candidates are taken from the lists in order of their position.

16. Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) • A proportion of the parliament is elected by majority methods, usually from single-member electorates, while the remainder come from PR Lists. • Under MMP systems, the List PR seats compensate for any disproportions produced by the district seat results. • MMP is used in countries such as Germany, New Zealand, Italy and Venezuela.

17. Voting in Canada The whys and how to’s

18. Why Vote? • When we vote, we choose the representatives who will make the laws and policies that govern how we live together. • Compared to other forms of political participation, voting does not require a lot of time or effort – in other words, it is one of the easiest ways to have a say in how your society is governed. • According to research commissioned by Elections Canada, only 25.4% of 18 to 24-year-olds voted at the 2000 general election. That means nearly 75% of young Canadians did not participate in selecting this country's government. • When politicians know in advance that most young people don't vote, they may be less interested in making the effort to be responsive to issues that matter to younger Canadians. • By not voting, young Canadians may be sending a message to politicians that young electors don't want to hear from them.

19. Government’s Impact on YOU • Increased government spending means that tuition or fees may be kept the same or even lowered. It also means that the institution may be able to offer more classes or services. • Decreased government spending means that institutions may have to increase tuition or fees to meet costs or they might cut down on the number of classes or services offered.

20. Government’s Impact on YOU • In Saskatchewan all new drivers have a one year probation. • Federal government through the CRTC decides what is shown on Canadian TVs and radio. • Federal government regulates and controls the use of firearms.

21. Government’s Impact on YOU • In 2008 the Saskatchewan people celebrated Tax Freedom Day (the day Canadians have paid off the total tax bill imposed on them by government and can finally start working for themselves) on June 20. • Our governments decide what you pay in direct taxes – income tax, GST, and PST. • Our government also decides what you pay in indirect taxes which in Saskatchewan includes: gas, electricity, auto insurance, and possibly phone service.

22. Who can vote? • You may vote in this federal election if you: • are a Canadian citizen • will be 18 or older on election day • are registered to vote

23. How to Vote • The date, hours and address of your election day poll will be available on the election Canada website, on your voter information card or by calling Elections Canada. • You must be registered to vote; if you aren't, you can register online at the elections Canada website, or register at your polling place, just before you vote. • You must prove your identity and address: • One Government issued photo id. such as driver’s license • Two pieces of id. without a photo • Swear an oath and be vouched for by an elector

24. Other Ways to Vote Advanced Polls Elections Canada Office • Same as voting on election day • Dates and locations are also on your voter information card • Open to anyone for any reason • You can vote in person at your local Elections Canada office for most of the election period. • After an election is called, Elections Canada sets up local offices in every riding in Canada. • To vote at your local office, you must complete an Application for Registration and Special Ballot. Staff can help you with this form, if you'd like. You must show proof of your identity and home address. • Once your special ballot application is accepted, staff will give you a special ballot voting kit. You can vote on the spot. Or, if you prefer, you can come back to the office to submit your vote later.

25. Other Ways to Vote • Vote by Mail • Voting by mail or at a local Elections Canada office means voting by special ballot. • Anyone may vote by special ballot, but you must apply for this ballot in advance. • Your application must be received at Elections Canada by the special ballot registration deadline: 6 p.m. on the Tuesday before election day. • Once your application is accepted, we will give you a special ballot voting kit. This kit includes: • a special ballot • two envelopes (they keep your vote secret) • instructions on how to mark and mail in your special ballot • Your completed special ballot must arrive at Elections Canada by the election day deadline, or it will not be counted. • Once your application to vote by special ballot has been accepted, this is the only way you can vote. You cannot vote at the advance or election day polls or apply for another special ballot. • You may vote only once during an election, and you may vote only for a candidate running in your riding.

26. Voting Day • In Saskatchewan poll stations are open from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm when daylight savings time is in effect. • When daylight savings time is NOT in effect poll stations are open 8:30 am to 8:30 pm. • Your employer in MOST cases MUST provide 3 consecutive hours for you to vote

27. Counting Votes • After the polls close, every deputy returning officer counts the votes for his or her polling station, assisted by the poll clerk and witnessed by the candidates or their representatives. • The deputy returning officer records the number of votes received by each candidate and the number of rejected ballots on a Statement of the Vote. The ballots and other election documents are then sealed in the ballot box and delivered to the returning officer. • Every returning officer validates the results by adding the totals given on each Statement of the Vote. The returning officer then delivers a certificate announcing the validated results to the candidates. In the absence of an application for a judicial recount, on the seventh day after the validation, he or she writes the name of the candidate who has received the most votes on the election writ, signs the writ and returns it to the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada.

28. Judicial Recounts • A judicial recount occurs automatically if the two leading candidates are separated by less than one one-thousandth of the total votes cast in the electoral district or if they receive the same number of votes after the validation. • As well, any elector may apply for a judge to carry out a judicial recount within four days of the validation of the results, with a $250 deposit and an affidavit that the count was improperly carried out, ballot papers were improperly rejected or the returning officer carried out the validation improperly. • In the very rare cases where the two leading candidates still have the same number of votes after the recount, a by-election is held for that electoral district.

29. Contested Elections • After a person is declared elected, any elector who was eligible to vote in a district or any candidate in that district may bring an application for a contested election before a judge. • In a contested election proceeding, a judge is required to determine whether the person who won the election was eligible to be a candidate or whether there were any other irregularities, fraud, or corrupt or illegal practices that affected the result of the election. • This is a court proceeding at the end of which the judge either dismisses the application or invalidates the result of the election. • An appeal from this decision can be brought to the Supreme Court of Canada.

30. Credits • Most of the previous information and a great deal more may be found at Elections Canada’s website at http://www.elections.ca/home.asp • Official Party web sites: • Bloc Quebecois: http://www.blocquebecois.org/horizon2015/accueil.php • Conservatives: http://www.conservative.ca/ • Green Party: http://www.greenparty.ca/ • Liberal Party: http://www.liberal.ca/ • NDP: http://www.ndp.ca/