My proposal for island-wide voting
ONLY options A and B are fully island-wide voting. So I would like to suggest an alternative proposal, other than the daft idea that everyone should have up to 38 votes. It has been put to me that electronic voting would reduce the time taken over that many votes. This would come at some cost (at a time when we should spend less), and would still extend the time a voter spends at the booth (even if a voter selects less than the 38, there is still likely to be some dithering).
It was also put to me that the electoral reform group intimated that all seats should require the same number of votes. I checked up on this, and could only find references to the type of unfairness that occurs in the UK, whereby the main parties have power while getting only close to 30% of the votes (and parties such as the Greens get very few despite getting over one million). As the UK ignores this group, this shows that this reform group is only advisory.
My choice would be for some means of selecting some deputies from the local area, and the rest from island wide. The voting slip would need to be at least A4 size, with one half dedicated to the local area as at present, with a number of votes up to a certain number – I have chosen two, which would give 14, leaving 24 for island-wide choices. Three would give 21, leaving 17 island-wide, and four would leave only 10 island-wide.
The other half would be dedicated to island-wide choices, with the applicants shown on the cubicle wall.
(a) A two digit number would be indicated against each person, which would need to be reproduced on the ballot form (much like a post code). (b) If proof was required due to poor writing skills, then the initials of the candidate could be added alongside.
The 14 (or 21) area deputies would be therefore already elected. Their totals would also be in the island-wide list, but would be ignored for the other 24 (or 17) places.
When I put the idea to deputies, one point they made was that popular persons would get thousands of votes, leaving the last ones to get in with very few. This smells of arrogance, as even now, a person that just squeezes in has just as much right as the top few. Additionally, any newcomer would find it difficult to get enough votes, and the fact that they needed fewer votes would give them a better chance.
Alderney: There must be a reason that Alderney has no deputies, but their two representatives could be replaced by deputies voted in a similar manner to the other local areas, and a choice for the island voters to be included in the Bailiwick-wide voting.
Additionally:
Douzaines: More use could be made of the douzaines on the various committees. These people provide a free service and they should be shown more appreciation by the States of Guernsey. I gather that when previously they shared the island's workload, they were treated as poorer neighbours.
DAVID WYLIE,
La Chanterelle,
Ruette des Fries,
Castel.
D.Wylie@cwgsy.net
