Our first-past-the-post voting system distorts the way we vote, and while most of us just vote for who we want, there has been a lot of pressure to vote “strategically” this election.
Green volunteers who have been knocking on doors say that some Green voters will vote NDP, but that some Liberal and Conservative voters will vote Green, and some NDP voters will not vote at all. Like ships passing in the night, people are trying to fix the flaws of our electoral system, but in practice make it even worse.
If voters actually give in to the pressure from protest organizations like Dogwood and Leadnow, or from the EcoSociety, then on Oct. 20 nobody will know what voters actually voted for.
There is no “against” option on our ballot, but we do have the freedom to vote for the future we want. It is sad to waste that precious gift on a politician you don’t like in the hope that it will defeat a party you detest, while you abandon the candidate who actually represents your values.
“Strategic” voting may have the best intention, but negative plus negative just doesn’t add up to positive. Democracy is a beautiful thing, and nobody can tell you how to vote. So never mind all the strategic hot air. The simple truth remains that voting for the future we want, is the only way we will ever get there.
Sjeng Derkx
Nelson