That is BS!
Is Ford trying to protect conservative councilors or something?
It's like the gerrymandering and electoral college system in the States, where the right-wingers want to be able to control the election results.
The NDP and Liberals, centrists and left-wingers, may have to decide among themselves in each provincial riding/municipal ward who should against the (Progressive) Conservatives (right-wingers), if the ban goes through.
Will Doug Ford ban ranked ballots from municipal elections? Maybe
From
link.
Surprise provincial legislation that would claw back London’s ability to use ranked ballot voting in its civic elections was met with outrage by local politicians and supporters of electoral reform on Tuesday.
London was the only city to adopt ranked ballots after the power was granted to cities, debuting the change in the 2018 municipal election by giving voters the chance to rank their first, second and third choice of candidates for mayor and ward councillor.
But in a move that one political scientist said continues a provincial trend of “micromanaging” municipal affairs, Premier Doug Ford’s government announced changes to Ontario’s election law on Tuesday, tacked onto COVID-19 recovery bill. The proposed legislation would nix the option of ranked ballot voting for cities across the province.
“It’s funny, because if it’s good enough for the (Progressive) Conservative party, why isn’t it good enough for municipalities?” asked Zack Taylor, a Western University politics professor, referring to the use of ranked ballots by many political parties to elect their leaders, including Ford’s own party, which elected him using that system.
“It certainly fits with an ongoing pattern, not just with the Conservative government, but the previous Liberal government, of micromanging municipal affairs when there’s no clear provincial interest. I mean, why do they care how a municipality chooses to run an election?” Taylor said.
A provincial spokesperson said repealing ranked ballot powers would “bring predictability to municipal elections, at a time when Ontarians are focused on their health and safety.”
“At a time when municipalities are focused on protecting the health and safety of their residents and are facing decreased revenues as a result of COVID, proceeding with costly ranked ballot elections does not make sense for taxpayers,” a spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing wrote in an e-mailed statement.
Implementing ranked ballots for the 2018 election cost Londoners about $250,000 more than the previous races when traditional first-past-the-post voting was used, but some of the bill was for additional voting machines given the city’s growing population — a cost that would have been incurred either way.
“The idea that somehow the province needs to protect municipalities from making their own spending decisions is an odd one, given that these are democratically elected officials making decisions,” Taylor said.
“Clearly somebody at the provincial level doesn’t really like ranked ballots and wants to get rid of them.”
The changes are part of a bill focused on a legal protections for workers and organizations that follow COVID-19 safety rules.
Several other cities, including Kingston and Toronto, were debating a shift to ranked ballots in the 2022 municipal election.
London West MPP Peggy Sattler, the NDP’s critic for democratic reform, ripped Ford’s government for overstepping.
“Once again we see Doug Ford meddling in municipal elections and overriding the ability of locally elected bodies to make their own decisions. It’s completely inappropriate and Ford should stop,” she said.
Local politicians also expressed concern.
“I’m very disappointed to hear this news,” Ward 7 Coun. Josh Morgan said, a strong proponent of ranked ballots.
“Whether you support ranked ballots or not, allowing local communities to choose the way they elect their governments is a good thing for local democracy,” he added.
Deputy Mayor Jesse Helmer started a petition on his website, urging people to oppose the move, arguing it would only benefit incumbent politicians.
“Doug Ford is trying to take away power from the people of Ontario,” he wrote.
Ranked-ballot boosters argue the system cuts down on the need for strategic voting and may even attract more diverse candidates or encourage more people to vote.
But the use of ranked ballots didn’t change the results of any London contest, mayoral or ward, in 2018 compared to what they would have been with the past system.
The candidate leading after the first round of voting, the traditional winner, also triumphed in the end in all 15 races — for the mayor’s seat and the 14 ward council positions.
Still, voters seemed interested in the new system.
Just shy of 70 per cent of those who voted for a new mayor ranked more than one candidate on their ballot in the departure from traditional pick-just-one voting, with the largest proportion of those voting for mayor — more than 46 per cent — using all three of their choices at the ballot box.