Proportional Representation
A couple of discussions of this have turned up in matgb's journal recently and, I think, a while back someone brought up the Canadian (specifically, Ontario) proposal for Multi-Member Proportional voting. The system is a bit like that used in Wales and Scotland - have a "normal" MP that you vote for, and then have a second vote for a party list.
http://www.cbc.ca/ontariovotes2007/features/features-reform.html details the reforms.
This has now been rejected very heavily by the electorate: http://www.nupge.ca/news_2007/n12oc07a.htm In a referendum held with Tuesday's Ontario election, electors voted to retain FPTP, despite the fact that it usually rewards the front-running party with a greater proportion of seats than its percentage of the vote.
The vote against MMP was 63.2% province-wide with just 36.8% in favour. The change was rejected in 102 of 107 provincial ridings. The five favouring MMP were all in the Toronto area.
To have passed, MMP would have required a 'supermajority' of 50% plus one in 60% of all ridings, and a 60% total vote province-wide. As a result, Ontario now seems likely to retain FPTP, and its shortcomings, for many years to come.
I'm not a big fan of party lists, but I generally think they're less rubbish than FPTP, mostly. Emphasis on the mostly.
I much prefer sensibly divvied up STV constituencies generally, though - although a brain-dead STV implementation is nasty too.
http://www.cbc.ca/ontariovotes2007/features/features-reform.html details the reforms.
This has now been rejected very heavily by the electorate: http://www.nupge.ca/news_2007/n12oc07a.htm In a referendum held with Tuesday's Ontario election, electors voted to retain FPTP, despite the fact that it usually rewards the front-running party with a greater proportion of seats than its percentage of the vote.
The vote against MMP was 63.2% province-wide with just 36.8% in favour. The change was rejected in 102 of 107 provincial ridings. The five favouring MMP were all in the Toronto area.
To have passed, MMP would have required a 'supermajority' of 50% plus one in 60% of all ridings, and a 60% total vote province-wide. As a result, Ontario now seems likely to retain FPTP, and its shortcomings, for many years to come.
I'm not a big fan of party lists, but I generally think they're less rubbish than FPTP, mostly. Emphasis on the mostly.
I much prefer sensibly divvied up STV constituencies generally, though - although a brain-dead STV implementation is nasty too.