- Share This Post
- Pin It
- 4
-
Sparkle (0)
What does your vote mean to you? Would you trade it or swap it with someone's vote in a different part of the country? That's what thousands of Canadians are planning to do next month when they head to the polls. And it's all come about and being organized with social media.
It all started with a Facebook group, the Anti-Harper Vote Swap Canada. The group's goal is to keep the Conservative party from gaining a majority government (for a brief explanation about elections and majority/minority governments see the post Canadian Elections 101). The group argues that any of the parties on the left are a better choice than the Conservatives.
The concept of the vote swap is simple: in a completely legal fashion, it allows voters in different ridings to swap votes to best ensure the Conservatives don't win. Let's say your preferred candidate has no chance to win your riding. You can swap that vote out with someone else in the group who will vote for your party in a riding where it has chances to win, while you'll vote for the party that has the best chance to stop the Conservatives in your own riding.
And yes, it is legal. There were questions about its legality but Elections Canada investigated and ruled that the vote swapping site is legal.
James Hale, a spokesman for the federal agency, said the act of encouraging someone to vote in a particular way is allowed under the Elections Act.
It's also acceptable for people to invite voters to participate in an organized strategic voting plan, whether on the internet or through other means, he said.
Hale does caution voters, saying that they have no guarantees.
And even if a vote swap seems to be on the up-and-up, there's really no way of knowing for sure. That's because it's impossible to verify how people actually cast their ballots once they're in the voting booth.
Melanie at Mapleleafweb listened to an interview with the creator, Mat Savelli, on the CBC radio show, The Current. Savelli apparently stated that the group is not political. This is what Melanie had to say to that.
How is this NOT political?! The second thought relates directly to the interview, as the creator Mat Savelli indicated that he didn't find the group and the action it takes political at all. For me, "political" includes any interaction with or action directed to the formal political system, so it boggles my mind someone would think this up and then argue it's not political.
Dipper Chick, an NDP supporter, had this to say about vote swapping.
The more people trust this vote swap, the less representative the vote will be. The thing runs on the honour system for christssakes. This is an election people! People are not always honest.
And Willow, a Volvo Driving Soccer Mom wants to know when did our vote become a commodity?
I am not particularly political nor a staunch supporter of any given political party, but agreeing to vote one way in your own riding in return for someone elsewhere voting for the party you actually would like to vote for seems to me to be the dumbest thing I have heard of in a long time. The idea that you do not want to "waste your vote" is totally hypocritical - if you truly believe in a candidate or party platform, grow a spine and cast your own ballot in good faith.
My vote is my voice and personally I would never swap, sell, or in any way trade my vote. When I look at how many people around the world don't have that right I cannot ever imagine putting it in someone else's hands. A vote that women in Canada obtained just three years before my grandmother was born. A vote that First Nations people did not get until March 1960. Nope, you can't have it. It's mine. You've got your own, use it.
Contributing Editor Sassymonkey blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.
