New Voting System?

[Daragon]

Misinformation, not liking Nick Clegg, not really understanding what AV is and not bothering to find out, general political apathy?

Bottom line is: It's a sad day for democracy in the UK when people don't vote for a fairer electorial system

Fairer would have been PR. I agree that FPTP needs to go, but replaced with AV it should not be.

[MartyG]

I wouldn't disagree and I'd rather that had of been an option. Trouble is, voting no means no chance of electoral reform for the far forseable future. AV isn't perfect, but it is better.

[toythatkills]

If I was running the YES campaign, I'd have just put posters everywhere that said:

LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID.



VOTE YES.

[Daragon]

Better how, and for who?

I really don't want to have to rank politicians in order of preference - if I believe a candidate to be truly awful, I don't want there to be even a minimal chance of me helping them gain power.

[Daragon]

If I was running the YES campaign, I'd have just put posters everywhere that said:

LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID.



VOTE YES.

To be fair, the alternative would have been Brown. I would rather a lifeless corpse have control over the country now than him!

[MartyG]

Then you don't have to - you put a 1 and leave it at that.

If a candidate is considered truly awful under AV there's no chance of him being elected, he get's eliminated round 1. FPTP favours extremist parties far more than AV as all it takes is just a small margin to swing it.

AV works better because it requires candidates to have broad popular appeal, they need a general 50% majority, not a marginal minority which can sometimes be as little as a third of the electorate. Watch the vids linked above for a far better explanation.

[egparadigm]

Better how, and for who?

I really don't want to have to rank politicians in order of preference - if I believe a candidate to be truly awful, I don't want there to be even a minimal chance of them gaining power.

Right, well AV helps you keep the "enemy" out without having to vote tactically for the lesser of two evils. You can vote with your heart ? give your preferred party number 1, knowing that if the "enemy" doesn't have 50% you'll still stop them winning with your lower preferences.

The most important thing AV does is make sure that the winner gets 50%. This means that a constituency doesn't have the MP that a majority actively dislike. Under FPTP that is a possibility.

[Daragon]

I just don't want to run the risk of my votes being used to benefit a candidate that I didn't intend for them to be used for.

If AV still allows you the option to just vote for one candidate, end of, without all the nonsense of having to rank them then fine, I'll vote yes, but to my understanding it doesn't allow it so I won't.

[MartyG]

Then your understanding is incorrect.

[egparadigm]

You can put an X in a box if you want under AV.

[Daragon]

Then your understanding is incorrect.

Then why are so many people adamant on keeping what we have? If we can just vote for one candidate, without having to say "I want Joe bollocks here to have my 3rd vote" why is it widely viewed as such a flawed system?

[MartyG]

Because there's too much misinformation about, much from the No2AV camp causing F.U.D. - so people are not voting with the informed facts of the benefits of AV.

Many MPs would love to keep the current system as it ensures safe seats.

[Neon Ignition]

I agree about the last vote though. Coalition over Brown every time.

[Number45]

I think that people aren't happy with this coalition government, which is blamed largely on the Liberal Democrats, and that they're the party pushing for change will be a factor in the outcome. It might be fairer, but ultimately people will look at the information they have (which won't be a lot, in most cases) and assume that it's being pushed because the Liberal Democrats stand to benefit the most.

People vote ALL the time for who they like, or who their parents vote for rather than making an informed decision based on facts (<< this, incidentally, is the reason I seldom vote).

[abigsmurf]

Any reliable exit polls yet?