Dear Prime Minister,
Dear Minister of Democratic Institutions and Electoral Reform,
The elections are fast approaching, and who says election says first-past-the-post system. However, this voting method has proven time and time again that it favors the winning party, even if it has weak voting intentions. Indeed, although the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) oscillates at 45% of the voting intentions, you would seize more than 80% of the seats with this voting method: your government would therefore have 100 deputies out of 125. Thus, the opposition – already battered since the start of the pandemic – would be almost reduced to nothing. Democracy would take it for its cold.
However, you had made a promise to Quebeckers, that of changing this voting system to make it proportional. However, despite the signing of an agreement with the opposition parties and the promise not to “remake a Trudeau”, nothing has changed. On the contrary, on December 17, you even officially abandoned the ballot reform project.
The consequences of this decision are multiple and particularly affect young voters. The participation rate bears witness to this: in the provincial elections, only 42.1% of 18-24 year olds living in the regions voted. This voting method demobilizes young people, makes them cynical in the face of political contests. Contrary to what you think, the people are demanding a change in the ballot, especially the hundreds of thousands of members of the Coalition for Electoral Reform, as mentioned in numerous open letters from the New Democracy Movement.
Even if this situation benefits your party, Mr. Legault, you had a golden opportunity to make the elections fair, but it is clear that you did not seize it. If that promise had been kept, your party could have prided itself on having been its instigator. Moreover, even if you are among those who could have lost votes and seats, you would have had at least the merit of putting democracy before the interests of your party.
You would thus have favored the history of Quebec, like Bernard Drainville who, under the government of Pauline Marois, amended the Election Act to guarantee fixed-date elections and lower the ceiling on political contributions. that can be paid by each elector from $1000 to $100.
Finally, when on October 3 we will be called to the polls, your government will encourage the population, and in particular young people, to go and vote, “because every vote counts”. However, your desire not to reform the voting system contributes to cynicism, which only increases over time.
Following the counting of the votes, a good number of politicians are surprised at the low turnout among 18-34 year olds: this attitude shows total contempt for us, the young people, who represent the next generation in Quebec. Since our vote does not count, we, as well as many members of our generation, face a dilemma: will we vote next October 3 and, if so, for whom?
Signed: young voters who particularly feel the cynicism.