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Jen Fisher-Bradley
(Although the Electoral Reform referendum this past May 17th didn't acheive
the 60% of votes needed in order to pass, Jen's enthusiasm for the process,
and committment to social justice and equality makes her an inspirational
force in her community. The idea of electoral reform has fired the imaginations
of many British Columbia citizens and government officials. We look forward
to progressive action taken in this regard, in the future. -ed.)
I have been
recruited by
I have also been hosting and organizing meetings on STV, “Single Transferable Vote” the referendum choice in the upcoming election. Here are some things Stephen and I have written about the changes for women that we see in this electoral reform.
The
Citizens Assembly is a blueprint for the future of democratic reform. The
One man and one woman from each of the 79 constituencies and one man and one woman from the First Nations gave us this opportunity after 11 months of self-education on the options. The Liberal government supported it with $5 million dollars but unfortunately with very little support for the final critical phase of the project, the public education phase.
For
now it's up to the grassroots to let the BC voters know that they have this
valuable chance to change the look, feel and outcomes of the democratic process
in
HOW WILL ELECTING OUR REPRESENTATIVES USING AN STV METHOD CHANGE THE PARTICIPATION IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS FOR WOMEN?
FOR WOMEN VOTERS:
A woman can no longer be accused by her spouse of "canceling my vote" if she votes differently from him.
Women who wish to vote for female candidates for the party of their choice will be able to do so. Adding females to the slate is becoming of increasing importance to Canadians, in a recent poll 90% want to see more women elected to office.
Women can support candidates who speak strongly about women's issues across party lines. This is usually a very silent issue even in parties with women leaders.
I feel that the civility matters to men as well, and that politics will have a whole new following of men and women if the women are there and engaged, especially the younger men who feel more secure around women in a political context because of the many single mom families these days.
STV removes the hierarchical power dynamic from the parties' inner circles and gives that power to the voter in terms of choices. This transfer of power will have a profound effect on women, parties and all of society, once we get the feel for it.
FOR WOMEN CANDIDATES:
Parties can no longer sideline female candidates as "less electable" The voters will decide.
Candidates who speak strongly on controversial issues will be able to seek support from a wider population.
If parties spend more advertising money on male candidates that will be obvious to voters.
Since candidates will often be dependent on second choice votes from voters who have someone else as their first choice, in order to get elected to one of the multi-member seats, it will no longer pay to speak ill of other candidates. The civil atmosphere and emphasis on issues will attract women candidates and women supporters of candidates as players on the campaign teams.
Women wishing to run as independents in order to keep their voice free or to get on the ballot will have a reasonable chance to win. This is highly significant because it will also tend to have the effect of causing the parties to put women on their slates.
Women do not tend to have the networks that men have or the finances so these capacitating factors will have to be addressed by the parties.
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The poster I made up to advertise STV Afternoon Tea which turned out to be a great meeting where a lot of women learned what a good deal STV preferential voting is going to be for them and the whole community.
