Transcript Slide 1
REP DAY 2014 Our Electoral System What is an electoral district? • An electoral district is a geographical area represented by an elected official, also known as a riding or constituency. • The size of an electoral district is determined by population and geographical features. • Urban ridings are small and heavily populated, rural ridings are large and sparse. • The number of federal electoral districts will increase from 308 to 338 in the next election. • This means your electoral district name or its size or shape may change, or your neighbourhood or town may join another district. What is an electoral system? • An electoral system is the way that citizens’ choices, expressed as votes, are translated into legislative seats. • All electoral systems have three basic elements: – District magnitude: the number of members elected per electoral district – Ballot type: the way in which choices are presented to voters – Electoral formula: the method for determining which candidate gets elected How are our representatives elected? • Canada uses a system called First-Past-the-Post (or SingleMember Plurality) • Citizens elect one member per electoral district. • Citizens can only choose one candidate/party on the ballot. • The winning candidate must receive at least one more vote than any other candidate. This is also known as plurality. How does First-Past-the-Post work? • An example of FPTP, in an electoral district with 100 people. VOTE TOTALS BY CANDIDATE Olivia (Banana Party) Josh (Apple Party) Nancy (Pear Party) Norman (No Affiliation) 40 15 11 34 • Olivia wins because she has the most votes, even though most voters chose someone else. How does someone run for election? • A person running for election is called a candidate. • Any person who wants to run in a federal election must file papers with Elections Canada by the nomination deadline. • Political parties select candidates to run for their party in the electoral districts across the country. • Candidates can also run as an independent or without any relation to a party. Discussion • Would you ever consider running for election? Why or why not?