The system is still down
Columnist says voting is useless without electoral reform
Mike Warkentin

I’m not voting on May 22.

Not because I’m lazy and not because I’m uninformed. I’m not voting because the political system is broken, and I refuse to participate in it until it’s fixed.

I can already hear people criticizing my position as ignorant and pointless... For example, I’ve had this debate about 50 times with my colleague Marlo Campbell, and we never agree, even though I respect her pro-voting opinion.

But, just for a minute, think about something Jim Sanders touched on in last week’s issue of Uptown: If you’re interested in politics, you no doubt decry corruption, corporate influence, graft, patronage and inefficiency. You were probably angry about AdScam, and you’re probably able to spout off about a host of NDP promises that have not been kept since the last provincial election. I’m sure you constantly criticize our politicians and demand that they do better.

That’s fine — but you should do some reading and discover that the problems you’re complaining about are caused not by the people in government but by the political process that puts them there and allows them to run amok.

Our current system — which Winston Churchill said is the worst form of government, except for all the others — has become the playground of rich people who want more power, and it is quickly becoming a theme-park ride for corporations that use lobby groups and campaign contributions to influence government policy.

It is therefore in the best interests of these people to maintain the status quo, even though most people agree that the good ship Democracy has been taking on water for some time now.

That’s why I take pleasure in the increasing disinterest voters show toward the political process, and why I enjoy low voter turnouts.

I’m sadly aware that many people are too busy watching reality TV to give a rat’s ass about society, but I’m also aware that our corrupt political process has failed to engage people and has created an atmosphere of malaise and cynicism. The best measure of that cynicism is our falling voting rates, and I believe that each person who stays away from the polls or spoils a ballot takes one more ounce of legitimacy away from the representatives spit out of a broken political machine.

I’d love to see voter turnout of less than 10 per cent. Let’s see a power-hungry politician try and claim to be the voice of the people with only the support of three per cent of eligible voters.

Then I’d like to see the smart people in our city, province and country take a run at the current system and demand that some changes be implemented.

I’m no political theorist, but I think people — regular people — should be a big part of any new system, and I think corporations should not. I think campaigns should be funded by the state, not by wealthy people seeking influence and tax breaks. I think the first-past-the-post system sucks, and I’d like to see some sort of proportional representation thrown into the mix. I think we could do with more accountability and transparency.

People smarter than I am will no doubt have a host of good ideas that should be used to create an engaging system in which every vote counts.

When the electorate wants to meet on the steps of the Legislature or City Hall to demand that the political process be reformed, I will be there.

When rich people ask me to play their rigged game, I will not.

Mike Warkentin thinks he has a right to complain about the government because he did not vote for it.