Editor:
I have followed the debate on the pros and cons of BC-STV with great interest. I find it curious that we are asked to vote for a second time on a somewhat obscure voting system that is so complex that votes can only be counted by computer. Not only will we have to invest millions of dollars in voting machines, but voting computers are, by nature, vulnerable to manipulation. Votes can easily be transferred this way and that way with no-one ever being able to prove the machines wrong.
As a matter of fact, voting machines have proven so vulnerable to hackers that Germany recently banned all use of voting machines, following the lead of several other European countries as well as 11 U.S. states.
In most countries with proportional representation, citizens are given two votes: one for a party and one for a local representative. All votes are counted manually, and there is a paper trail in case a recount becomes necessary. Such a system would be easy to implement here without having to change electoral districts.
The whole debate over BC-STV may be missing the point. Why are we not allowed, this time around, to vote on what type of proportional representation we want? Is BC-STV being pushed under the guise of proportional representation, so that voting computers will become mandatory in B.C.?
Renate Kroesa
Halfmoon Bay
