It’s Election Day!

I Voted Today

I cast my ballots in the Ontario Provincial Election and Referendum before going to work today. It’s easy for me — the polling station in my neighbourhood just happens to be in the lobby of my building.

If you’re eligible, go vote! Section 132 of the Canada Elections Act entitles you to three consecutive hours in order to vote, and if your hours don’t permit for that when the polling stations are open, your employer is required to give you those three hours off (and s/he cannot make any deductions from your pay for the time off, either).

Simple Paper Ballots

The act of casting a vote in Canada is dirt simple. The ballots are the same format, no matter where you are: a paper ballot with a list of candidates in large print with the candidate’s surname in ALL CAPS, with a circle beside each name.

Here’s a sample federal election ballot:

Here’s an approximation of what the provincial election ballot looks like:

These ballots have a number of advantages:

• They’re simple
• They leave an easily-verified paper trail
• They’re easy to scan either by eye or mechanically
• There’s only one format — no confusing butterfly ballots or other usability disasters
• And no easily–rigged machines created by a partisan company whose CEO promised a win to a specific party.

Where the System Fails

In spite of how simple it is, the system can still fail, and today I saw such a failure.

As I was handing in my registration card, a woman in her 80s — presumably she lived in my building — was puzzling over the referendum ballot. In the referendum, we’re being asked if the provincial election system should remain as the current “first-past-the-post” style, or if we should adopt a mixed-member proportional system, often abbreviated as “MMP”. (If you need an explanation, see here, here and here.)

Here’s what happened:

Old woman: What’s this extra thing?

Election official 1: It’s a referendum ballot.

Old woman: There’s a referendum?

Election official 1: Yes, ma’am. It’s all explained on the poster on this wall. You should take a…

Old woman (looking more closely at the referendum ballot, moving her lips while reading): Couldn’t they put the question in a single breath?

For reference, here’s what it says on the ballot:

Which electoral system should Ontario use to elect members to the provincial legislature? / Quel système électoral l’Ontario devrait-il utiliser pour élire les députés provinciaux à l’Assemblée législative?

• The existing electoral system (First-Past-the-Post) / L’actuel système électoral (système de la majorité relative)
• The alternative electoral system proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly (Mixed Member Proportional) / L’autre système électoral proposé par l’Assemblée des citoyens (système de représentation proportionnelle mixte)

Me: Ma’am, it’s a question about whether or not the system should be changed.

Guy behind me: The current system is…

Old woman: Did they have to put it in so many damned words?

Me (to the guy behind me): Can we just tell her to check the second option?

Guy behind me: Heh heh heh. Good on ya.

Old woman (to election official 2): Could you give me any advice on which to choose?

Guy behind me: If you give us a minute, ma’am, we can explain…

Election official 2: We’re election officials. We’re not allowed to influence your decision.

Old woman (tossing unfilled referendum ballot on table): Ehhhhh. Too much work. Never mind.

(She gets on the elevator and the door closes.)

Election official 1 (to Election officlal 2): Mark that as a refused ballot. First one of the day.

Guy behind me: Ah, democracy.

Me (to the guy behind me): “Greatest Generation” my ass.