Ranked ballot a priority for 2018 civic elections, Kathleen Wynne says
Premier Kathleen Wynne has ordered her municipal affairs minister to give Ontario cities the option of using ranked ballots in the 2018 civic election.

thestar.com
Sept. 30, 2014
By Robert Benzie

Premier Kathleen Wynne has ordered her municipal affairs minister to give Ontario cities the option of using ranked ballots in the 2018 civic elections.

In her mandate letter to Ted McMeekin, Wynne spells out the importance of leading “from the activist centre” with democratic reforms.

“We will place emphasis on partnerships with businesses, communities and people to help foster continued economic growth and make a positive impact on the lives of every Ontarian,” the premier wrote.

“This collaborative approach will shape all the work we do. It will ensure we engage people on the issues that matter the most to them, and that we implement meaningful solutions to our shared challenges.”

Significantly, Wynne has instructed McMeekin to begin “a review of the Municipal Elections Act after the 2014 municipal elections” next month.

“You will ensure that the act meets the needs of communities, and that it provides municipalities with the option of using ranked ballots in future elections, starting in 2018, as an alternative to first-past-the-post,” she wrote.

Ranked-ballot system
In a ranked-ballot system, voters cast ballots for preferred candidates - 1 for their favourite, 2 for their second choice, 3 for their third and so on - instead of for just one candidate.

If no one receives 50 per cent of the No. 1 votes, an instant run-off is held so the last-place candidate drops off the ballot and their second choice votes are allocated to the surviving candidates.

The process continues until a candidate wins a simple majority of 50 per cent plus one.

Proponents argue it is more democratic, curbs vote-splitting, and leads to less polarizing politics because candidates run less negative campaigns over fears of alienating potential second-choice supporters.

Dave Meslin, head of Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto , praised Wynne for keeping a campaign promise to revamp the system.

“Voters would have a lot more choice,” said Meslin, noting if the ranked ballot system were in place in the current Toronto mayoral contest former “candidates like David Soknacki and Karen Stintz would likely still be in the race.”

“There would be no talk of strategic voting. It’s a real shame for people to be told before an election to be told not to vote for the person they want.”

Meslin pointed out that all political parties already effectively select their leaders using a ranked ballot - Wynne needed support from backers of her rivals to win the 2013 Liberal leadership race.

“It’s not as if run-off voting is a foreign concept in Canada. (Candidates) tend to be more cordial to each other because they want to build second-place support of their opponents’ supporters,” he said.

Opposed to the change
Those opposed to the change warn ranked ballots can be confusing for voters - even though under the current “first-past-the-post” system, candidate routinely win with far less than 50 per cent of the vote.

Prior to the June 12 provincial election, there were two private member’s bills on the democratic reform winding their way through the legislature - one from Liberal Mitzie Hunter (Scarborough-Guildwood), who is now pensions minister, and the other proposed by New Democrat Jonah Schein (Davenport), who lost his seat.

Hunter’s bill would have allowed Toronto council to adopt a ranked ballot system for choosing the mayor and city councillors and would have taken effect next year - in time for the 2018 municipal vote.

Schein’s legislation would have to let the city adopt “an alternative voting system for the election of a member of city council, including the mayor.”