The Yukon Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform is recommending the territory move away from the status quo — the current first-past-the-post electoral system — to a system of preferential voting known as a ranked vote.
Thirty-eight randomly selected Yukoners from the Yukon’s 19 electoral districts who had expressed their interest in participating in a citizens’ assembly have come to a consensus, according to a statement issued by the assembly members on Sept. 12.
“I think the main reason our assembly went with a ranked vote is that we feel that it would make more votes matter,” citizens’ assembly member Dana Sundby of Watson Lake said by phone on Sept. 12.
It was the first citizens' assembly in the Yukon's history, and the third on electoral reform in the country following British Columbia in 2004 and Ontario in 2006.
In addition to recommending changes to the voting system, the Yukon citizens' assembly is recommending that the order of candidate names on a ballot be randomized; that Elections Yukon takes on an “extensive education program” to help inform all potential voters about the choice they are making in a public vote; and that the threshold to win a public vote be the same as the proposed rank vote system, as noted in the statement.
Dave Mavi is a citizens’ assembly member who lives in the Porter Creek Centre riding.
Mavi said “pretty much everybody" on the assembly agreed the current electoral system is insufficient.
Mavi said ranked votes allow voters to vote for who they truly want, and it opens the door to smaller parties and independent candidates getting voted in.
“You're voting your heart, rather than just voting somebody out,” Mavi said.
“We are recommending something that can actually change the political landscape.”
What it’s like to take part
Prior to making the recommendations, assembly members spent their summer setting ground rules, identifying key values, and learning about and deliberating the various electoral systems and how they could work in the territory.
Sundby said it was a “real privilege” to be a part of the assembly.
They considered different systems within the context of the Yukon’s unique geography and population spread.
Sundby said one of the toughest parts was agreeing on shared values at the top of the exercise.
“The group worked really well together. We certainly disagreed with each other, and I think every member changed their minds a few times when it came to what system they thought was best,” Sundby said.
One of Sundby’s biggest takeaways is that a big, random group of people who are very different can come together, in kind and respectful ways, and come to an agreement in a “really positive way.”
“I think sometimes the polarization that we hear about within society is more easily overcome than we think,” Sundby said.
Mavi agreed that members changed their minds throughout the process. Mavi said the group challenged each other's thought processes.
“I loved the experience,” Mavi said.
Mavi is going to pitch to MLAs and MPs more citizens’ assemblies on different topics like health, the budget and development.
The Official Opposition has been critical of the citizens’ assembly. A press release issued in November 2023 by the Yukon Party suggests the time, staff and financial resources directed to the citizens’ assembly would’ve been better off addressing the “many challenges” facing Yukoners.
The two citizens’ assembly members the News spoke with believe this citizens‘ assembly was a good use of time, staff and financial resources.
Sundby hopes the Yukon legislature will take the work of the citizens’ assembly seriously when the legislative assembly receives the report. Mavi is hopeful MLAs will strongly consider the work.
Per the members’ statement, the full report will be publicly available and tabled in the legislature before Oct. 31.
The legislature is responsible for setting out the next steps, including whether a public vote will take place and when, to give Yukoners the option to decide whether to adopt the ranked vote system or keep the status quo, as noted in the statement.
How ranked votes work
According to the members’ statement, the citizens’ assembly recommended a ranked vote that would see each voter indicating their preferred candidate and possibly ranking all candidates from first to last in order of preference. Marking a single X on the ballot would represent a voter’s first choice.
To win, the successful candidate must get a majority of the votes, or 50 per cent plus one of the votes cast in their riding, the assembly noted in its statement.
If no one gets 50 per cent plus one, then the candidates with the lowest number of top-ranked votes will be taken out of the running. The members' statement explains the next preference of the voters who marked the eliminated candidate as their top rank will then be distributed to the remaining candidates.
The process goes on until one candidate ultimately gets at least 50 per cent plus one of the votes cast, as explained in the members’ statement, which can be found in full on the Yukon Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform website.
The members' statement notes ranked ballots are often used by Canadian political parties in their leadership contests. Ranked ballots are used in Australia and Ireland, as well as jurisdictions across the United States including Alaska.
Editor's note: This story initially indicated that municipalities in Ontario have the power to use ranked ballots, which London and Toronto have done, based on information provided in the citizens' assembly's members' statement. In fact, according to Jonathan Rose, the academic lead for the citizens' assembly, revisions to the Ontario Municipal Act later reversed this, so this is no longer the case.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
