RSSStrategic Voting
Sep 16
Today I ran into a poll and a tool that were interesting given the discussions about strategic voting on my last post.
The first: Canadians prepared to vote strategically to prevent Tory majority: poll
The second: Vote for Climate – a site to help people make their strategic voting decision, specifically to help stop a Conservative majority.
I’m not a fan of strategic voting myself, but I don’t think it’s wrong either. My objection to it is that it’s based on what you don’t want, not necessarily promoting the ideals you really agree with, so you can’t ever expect to build the country you dream of. However, unless one political party truly represents all of your positions I guess a vote is a trade-off, therefore somewhat strategic.
Sep 16, 2008 @ 18:32:17
The vote swapping should help highlight just how much of an issue this electoral system is in our democracy.
Democratic Space, and a group on Facebook are also helping voters to vote strategically through swapping or otherwise.
Sep 18, 2008 @ 20:34:11
I personally find vote-swapping offensive…really? trading votes? We did this in the U.S. when Howard Dean was running and I recall at the time that people thought so little of their vote that they would ‘swap it out’ as if it were a trading card.
Down here vote swapping was done to achieve 3rd party status (if you’re not familiar with how that is obtained, I don’t have enough time to explain it) and while I completely agree that 3rd parties are disenfranchised in the U.S. I wouldn’t trade my vote for anything. That is an opportunity for me to vote FOR someone that I choose that I feel best represents my interests and idealogies…it is my voice. I can’t imagine just callously giving someone else an opportunity to take that voice away from me.
If EVERYONE voted their conscience, we in the U.S. wouldn’t need to have to debunk the myth of a wasted vote and maybe you all in Canada wouldn’t need to have to strategically attempt to prevent a Conservative majority — whatever happens would happen organically because each individual voted the way they wanted….and sure enough the outcome is what the majority wanted. Amazing how that democracy works.