Link to Democracy Watch news release

Voting system, failure of Elections Ontario to inform voters of right to decline their ballot, and dishonesty and lack of key democratic reform promises, are likely reasons for 2^nd lowest turnout in the province’s history

Despite Elections Ontario’s negligence, a record total of ballots were declined — 1,345% more than in 2011

NEWS RELEASE
Monday, June 23, 2014

OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch called for democratic changes to Ontario’s political system in response to the clear crisis of low voter turnout in the provincial election.  Initial results show that the Ontario Liberals have won a majority of 58 of 107 seats with the support of only 19.5% of eligible voters, which raises serious questions about their mandate to govern, let alone implement any specific law or policy.

Only 52.1% of eligible voters cast a ballot (the second lowest turnout ever (tied with 2011), and 38% of the ballots cast were for the Liberals.

“With just over half of eligible voters casting ballots in the Ontario election, the second lowest turnout ever, alarm bells should be going off and questions raised about the legitimacy of the provincial government,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch.  “Voter turnout will go up significantly only if the voting system is changed, if Elections Ontario does it’s job properly and informs Ontarians of their right to decline their ballot, and if the parties make promises to end undemocratic elections and government.”

Despite Elections Ontario’s illegal negligence in failing to inform voters about their right to decline the ballot, declined ballots increased 1,345% compared to 2011, from 2,335 in 2011 to the highest total ever of 31,399 (0.64% of total ballots cast).  This happened likely mainly because the media extensively covered Democracy Watch’s call for Elections Ontario to do its voter education job properly.

On average about 3,000 voters have declined their ballots in each provincial election since 1975, except in 1990 when 20,795 voters declined their ballots.

In addition, in the 2014 election a record total of 12,059 voters submitted a blank ballot (0.24% of total ballots cast), many of them possibly because there is clear evidence that many polling station workers don’t know how to respond when someone asks to decline their ballot). As well, 22,687 ballots were spoiled/rejected (0.46% of total ballots cast) — 10,000 more than in 2011.

These totals show the importance of Elections Ontario doing proper voter education to increase turnout (which is why Democracy Watch will be going to court asking for an order to force Elections Ontario to inform voters of their right to decline their ballot).

In addition, the Ontario parties must make the following changes if they want to increase voter turnout up to the past levels of 60-65%:

• pass an honesty-in-politics law that gives voters an easy, low-cost way to file complaints to the Integrity Commissioner, and gives the Commissioner the power to penalize misleaders (and requires MPPs who switch parties in-between elections to resign and run in a by-election);
• change the voting system to provide a more accurate representation of the popular vote results in each election in the seats held by each party in the legislature (as in many other countries) while ensuring that all elected officials are supported by, and are accountable to, voters in each riding/constituency (with a safeguard to ensure that a party with a low-level, narrow-base of support does not have a disproportionately high level of power in the legislature), and;
• strengthen provincial political ethics, political finance, lobbying, open government, and whistleblower protection laws.

These changes would give voters many more reasons to vote because they would know that voting for a specific party would mean their vote would count and the party’s promises would be kept, and they would be more assured of democratic good government overall no matter which party won.  As well, moving the fixed election date to the last Monday in October would make it easier for people with kids, and students, to follow and participate in the election campaign and have the identification needed to vote.

“More and more voters know from their experience of the past few decades of elections that they are not going to get what they vote for, and are likely to get dishonest, secretive, unethical, unrepresentative and wasteful government no matter who they vote for, and as a result no one should be surprised to see voter turnout at such a low level,” said Conacher.

These problems exist in all the provinces and territories across Canada.  All of these changes should be made by the federal and provincial and territorial governments, and for their municipalities, before either mandatory or Internet voting are tried (because both of those options will likely have serious negative effects).

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 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch
Tel: 613-241-5179
Cell: 416-546-3443

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Democracy Watch’s Democratic Voting Systems Campaign

Link to Hamilton Spectator article

Link to Ottawa Citizen article

Link to Huffington Post article

Link to CBC.ca article

Link to Canoe.ca article

Link to HuffingtonPost.ca article

NEWS RELEASE
Wednesday, June 18, 2014

OTTAWA — There is an elite club running Canada – the SuPremos.  They are almost all powerful, unchecked by anyone, and restricted by few laws.  Even the Constitution doesn’t stop them from abusing many of their powers.  Most watchdogs can’t touch them, and their actions often strike fear in the hearts of Canadians.

The SuPremos have the power to make decisions that can change the cost of everything Canadians pay for, and can affect whether the air they breathe and water they drink are clean or dirty, what kind of car they can buy, what kind of clothes they can buy, what they are allowed to eat and drink, and many other things in the lives of Canadians.

The SuPremos abuses of power can only be stopped if many Canadians demand it, so Democracy Watch is launching today its summer blockbuster StoptheSuPremos.ca campaign.

“Surveys show that a large majority of Canadians want changes to stop the SuPremos abuses of power, and Democracy Watch’s summer blockbuster campaign is aimed at getting Canadians to send a letter to party leaders across calling for these changes,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch.  “Many other countries including Britain, Australia and New Zealand have stopped abuses of power by their SuPremos with constitutional rules and other laws, and even Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have systems to stop their SuPremos, so there is hope that these changes can be won across Canada.”

Democracy Watch’s past campaigns have led to tens of thousands of Canadians sending letters to key politicians across Canada.  Its goal with the StoptheSuPremos.ca campaign is to have hundreds of thousands of Canadians send a letter.

The SuPremos are a loosely connected band of powerful people.  Many of them (known as the “Premiers”) control a network of supporters in a province called either MLAs or MPPs or MNAs, and one national member (known as the Prime Minister or “PM”) controls two groups of supporters that come from all parts of Canada, one called “MPs”, and the others called the “Senators”.

Almost all of them have enormous power even though only a minority of voters support them (and even many of the voters who support them are concerned about their abuses of power).

There is hope for changes to Stop the SuPremos — the elite clubs that run Britain, Australia and New Zealand and many other countries have had many of their powers restricted by clear, written rules, and so they are much more in the control of local politicians who are more free and empowered to represent voters’ interests than politicians in Canada are.

A large majority of Canadians want the powers of the SuPremos restricted.  A national survey of more than 2,000 Canadians by Harris-Decima in November-December 2012 showed that 84% of adult Canadians want enforceable rules to restrict key powers of the PM and the Premiers.  And a national survey of 1,007 Canadians by Environics in May 2013 found that 71% want legal restrictions on party leader powers to ensure politicians in each party have more power and freedom to represent voters.

Already in Canada there are examples of how the SuPremos powers can be restricted.  In parts of the north known as Nunavut territory and the Northwest Territories, the Premiers’ clubs have been broken up (there are no political parties in those two territories) and they can’t impose decisions on their supporters (the legislatures in those two territories make decisions by consensus).

The SuPremos are challenged across the country by other elite clubs led by politicians who want the powers the SuPremos have.  They are known as “The Opposition Parties”.   Currently, the only power the Opposition parties’ leaders have is control of the politicians in their club (also known as MPs or MLAs or MPPs or MNAs).  But they want more – they want to have the power to impose whatever law they want on Canadians; appoint whomever they want to organizations that control the lives of Canadians; and to open up Parliament and close it down whenever they want.

Some of the Opposition leaders have promised to act differently if they win power and become a SuPremo – but none of them have promised to change the Constitution or any laws to ensure they can’t abuse their SuPremo power.  They, like the SuPremos, have to be pushed to pass strong rules to restrict their powers and stop abuses.

It won’t be easy — nothing worth doing ever is – but all together Canadians can restrict the powers of the SuPremos and stop their abuses.  Democracy Watch will keep leading the campaign until these key democratic reforms are made across Canada.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch
Tel: 613-241-5179
Cell: 416-546-3443
Email: [email protected]
Internet: http://democracywatch.ca or http://StopTheSuPremos.ca

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Democracy Watch’s Stop PM/Premier Power Abuses Campaign

Link to Democracy Watch news release