Transcript Election Process

The Election Process
CHV20- Ms Levy
Why do we have elections so often?!
1. it makes the government accountable to the
people
2. provides opportunities for the people to voice
their needs and choose their government
Canada’s Electoral system
• Canada is divided into over 300 ridings
• # of ridings is based on population
• Federal elections must be called every 4 years by law
How do we decide on when to have an election?
1. Prime Minister advises the Governor General to
dissolve the House of Commons and calls an election
2. If the government is defeated in a vote of nonconfidence
3. The 4 year term is up!
Role of the Media
• Major players
– Present candidate in the best light
– Millions spent (travel, advertising)
• Ads also cast negative images or impressions
of their opponents
– Ex: 1993, Kim Campbell (PM, PC) emphasized Jean
Chretien’s speech disability
A few video campaigns
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscr
een&NR=1&v=PSmJaPICle8
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlvNyPNPEsk
&feature=relmfu
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz6KaYRdt6w
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0HjGEUoTv
Q
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIA5aszzA18
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3a7FC0Jkv8
Election Day
• Leaders maintain high profile
• Advance polls: allows people to vote who
might not vote otherwise (ex. Will be out of
town, in hospital etc)
• Media in Canada is not allowed to advertise
until the voting is over!!!
– Can influence decisions
– Ex: 2004 Internet shared decisions long before
the West had finished casting their ballots
Polls
• Located at churches, schools,
legions etc…
• Right and Responsibility as a
citizen
• Once at polling station: directed
to a table to check the voters list
Must be:
• 18
• Canadian Citizen
• On Voter’s List – most ppl are on
it when they turn 18 and file
their income tax return.
http://www.elections.ca/content.as
px?section=vot&dir=faq&docum
ent=faqreg&lang=e#a1
Counting Ballots: Majority
• In order to win a riding, a candidate does not need to
receive a clear majority (50% + 1) of the votes.
• P.C.
200 (majority)
• Liberal
50
101
• NDP
51
• the candidate only needs to receive a relative
majority (also called a plurality majority), meaning
that she/he received more votes than any other
candidate in the riding district.
Majority gov’t continued:
• This means that even if all the opposition
parties voted against the government, it will
still be able to pass legislation
• Often lasts for the full term.
Counting Ballots: Minority
• Party elects more members to Parliament
than any other, BUT not more than all the
other parties added together
– P.C
– Liberal
– NDP
150
75
76
(majority of seats)
151
Minority gov’t continued
• Leader of party goes to the Governor General
for permission to form a government
• If GG agrees, the leader becomes PM and
forms a cabinet
• Then government goes to the House of
Commons and seeks a vote of confidence
• Usually governing party meets with the
opposition leaders and tries to make an
agreement for their support by offering to
include some of their ideas in government
legislation
When a proposed bill receives less than a
majority of votes in the House of Commons,
defeating the government and forcing it to
resign.
If the government does not get a vote of
confidence:
– GG has 2 options:
• Calls the leader with the 2nd largest seats
to attempt to form a government
OR
• A new election
Video: the difference between
minority and majority provincial
gov’ts
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G_roEhW4c
Counting Ballots: Coalition
• Coalition Government: when no party has a
majority in Parliament… then 2 or more
parties can join together to form a
government
– P.C.
– Liberal
– NDP
10
20
20
Examples of these types of governments in
Canadian History
•
Majority Governments:
–
–
–
–
–
•
Minority:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
•
Sir John A Macdonald in 1867
Trudeau in 1974
Brian Mulroney in 1988
Jean Chretien in 1993, 1997, and 2000!!
Stephen Harper in 2011
Sir John A Macdonald 1882
Mackenzie King in 1921, 1925 and again in 1945
John Diefenbaker 1957
Lester Pearson in 1963 again in 1965
Pierre Trudeau in 1972
Joe Clark in 1974
Paul Martin in 2004
Stephen Harper in 2006 again in 2008
Coalition:
– The Great Coalition (1864-1867)
– The Union Government (1917-20)
One Vote Matters
“Those who stay away from the election think
that one vote will do no good: Tis but one step
more to think one vote will do no harm.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Why vote?!
• The right to vote is one of the cornerstones of
a modern democratic government.
• It is seen by many political scientists as the.
single most important element of a
democracy
• The reason for the importance of the vote is
to provide citizens with the opportunity to
choose their own government.
Why aren’t Canadians voting??
• As reported by Elections Canada, voter turnout among
Canadians is at an all time low.
• concerned about the low rates of young voter turnout
• Occasionally, citizens can develop an apathetic (lacking
interest or concern; indifferent) approach.
– The sense that in a society of millions of people, a single vote
has little or no meaning.
Consider this however - in the United States (a nation of well over
300 million people), during the 2000 federal election, the
Presidency was decided by a mere 537 votes in the state of
Florida, resulting in the election of George W. Bush.
Homework questions:
1. What are some other reasons why people
don’t vote?
2. What, then, are some of the solutions being
discussed by Canadians?
Importance of Reason for Not Voting (% very or fairly important)
68+
58– 67 48– 57
38– 47
30– 37
25– 29
21-24
18-20
Total
Just not interested
31.4
34.0
46.4
50.6
51.8
59.3
57.0
59.1
52.9
Didn’t like parties/candidates
41.7
40.8
56.0
50.9
46.9
43.2
50.7
45.3
47.6
Vote wouldn’t matter
30.6
37.5
47.1
37.9
41.1
36.7
34.3
30.4
37.1
Didn’t care about issues
42.9
28.0
35.7
37.3
36.6
32.8
37.7
36.5
36.0
Busy at work
16.7
14.3
16.5
24.8
36.9
33.9
38.6
40.9
32.2
Out of town
19.4
34.7
16.7
19.3
18.3
21.5
25.1
24.8
21.8
Didn’t know where or when
28.6
12.2
12.9
9.4
19.2
24.4
28.5
28.4
21.1
Not on the list
25.7
16.3
15.5
16.8
16.0
20.3
18.4
24.2
18.7
Too many elections
26.2
24.5
20.0
18.5
21.4
16.5
13.0
9.5
17.3
Illness
41.7
20.4
11.9
11.8
8.5
10.7
9.2
10.8
11.7
•
•
•
•
•
What are some other reasons why people don’t
vote?
Elections issues are not seen as controversial nor key
to the survival of the country (e.g., separation of
Quebec)
Satisfied with the present government, thus there is
no need to vote for change
Voting is seen mainly as a right, not a duty
Don’t have enough information about the election
process and/or the participants
Generally less interested in politics at a national level
– more interested in global issues
What, then, are some of the solutions being
discussed by Canadians?
• Make voting compulsory. Australia, Belgium
and Greece all have laws which have made
voting compulsory.
• Change the conditions for voting:
– Drop the voting age from 18 to 16
– Allow for voting through the mail or Internet
based voting
– Allow voting on other days, such as on a weekend
(elections are traditionally held on Mondays)