Yukoners may get an electoral reform question alongside the next ballot when they head to the polls in the next territorial general elections, following the Yukon citizen’s assembly’s recommendation to change the territorial electoral system to a ranked vote.
Premier Ranj Pillai is seeking Elections Yukon oversight on a potential plebiscite on electoral reform, according to the Yukon Liberal Caucus.
Talks are already happening with Elections Yukon about holding a public vote on electoral reform alongside the territorial general elections in 2025, the Liberal caucus said in a press release on Sept. 17.
The Yukon Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform is proposing to scrap the current first-past-the-post system, replacing it with a ranked vote where voters rank candidates in their riding in order of preference.
The citizens' assembly is also suggesting 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 a statement by the citizen’s assembly members.
The release from the Liberal caucus notes their support for putting this recommendation to referendum.
The release indicates Elections Yukon would run the plebiscite in a fair, impartial manner, providing Yukoners with clear, unbiased information about different voting options.
The citizens’ assembly’s final report is expected to be made public and tabled in the legislature by the end of October.
A report from the all-party Special Committee on the Yukon Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform states the citizens’ assembly shall report during or before the upcoming fall sitting of the Yukon Legislative Assembly to “permit sufficient time for the Legislature to pass legislation enabling territorial referendums in the Yukon, if there is a recommendation for an alternate electoral system.”
The special committee's report notes the all-party committee, made up from one member of each party with seats in the House, didn’t reach consensus.
Yukon government cabinet communications said by email there are no steps requiring approval in the legislature in order for this matter to go to a vote.
Minister John Streicker, the Yukon Liberal Party member on the special committee, spoke with the News by phone ahead of the release by the Liberal caucus on Sept. 17.
Streicker explained that the all-party committee didn’t recommend any particular voting system but did recommend two public votes on the matter: the first to decide whether to change the system and the second to determine if that was a good choice.
The committee’s recommendations are laid out in its final report, dated April 2023.
“One of our recommendations there was that not only should we have a referendum, but we should have one again after a period of time, so that Yukoners could, if they didn't like the new system, recommend to go back to our first-past-the-post-system,” Streicker said.
Streicker wants to leave it up to Yukoners to decide on the future of the electoral system here.
“There is no perfect system,” he said.
“All of them have different strengths and weaknesses, and so I don't think this is about getting a perfect system. I think it’s about getting the system that Yukoners believe is best suited for us.”
A letter, dated Aug. 27, from Pillai to chief electoral officer Maxwell Harvey was provided to the News by cabinet communications on Sept. 17.
The letter thanks Harvey for informing the Executive Council Office on Elections Yukon’s role if the Yukon government goes ahead with a plebiscite on electoral reform.
Pillai's letter indicates Elections Yukon is willing to administer a public vote.
The premier recognizes administering a referendum will dip into the independent office’s planning, resources and budget. He asks for confirmation that Elections Yukon agrees to provide notice to the public of the plebiscite, the plebiscite question and basic information on electoral systems. He also asks Elections Yukon about issuing the notice alongside general election information and providing neutral information on ballot alternatives for electors to make informed decisions.
Upon confirmation of Elections Yukon’s role, Pillai is asking the office to start preparing for a plebiscite held in conjunction with a general election in 2025, conditional on the citizens’ assembly’s final report, the appropriationn of required money and the Cabinet Committee on Legislation's approval of regulations for the vote.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
