this is the demos web site

It is the successor to the "get it right" site and it is about a lot more than just voting reform




contents

1. democracy in general
2. local democracy
3. about voting systems
4. advanced democracy
5. ongoing history




1. democracy in general

  • Excellent article on governmental reform in Canada: If our leaders were corrupt, would we know it?

  • Every Cook can Govern; A Study of Democracy in Ancient Greece Its Meaning for Today C. L. R. James

  • building a culture of trust in politics by Joe Brewer

  • Defining Populism, by Jim Hightower

  • Canada as the New Italy by Henry Milner

  • The More Things Change .... By C'daoim

  • Political Linguistics


    • 2. local democracy
  • Mayor's Vision Illuminates Electoral Reform

  • The virtues of deglobalization by Walden Bello

  • Montreal gives power to its citizens, Dimitri Roussopolous

  • torontodemocracyinitiative.pdf

  • Does Toronto Have to Be a Mean City? James Laxer.

  • making local elections work in Toronto

  • The Place of Cities in Canada

  • towards proportional local governance

  • Fairvote Toronto's leaflet on voting reform 2011

  • Democratic Renewal in Toronto; Committing to a Process and a Timetable
    • 3. about voting systems


  • A short and excellent refutation of arguments for the present voting sytem

  • A glossary of useful electoral system terms

  • voting systems according to fair vote

  • Prof. Birch's presentation to Citizen's assembly, about electoral system change in New Democracies.

  • here is a long, ( 115 page) exposition of the relationship between different voting systems. It is worth reading, though it is only the introductory section to a very long work. On page 96 is read; "...mixed systems are, in most cases, an ersatz for (PR)...as well as an intermediate step towards (PR) systems..."

  • Here is a very good book on what voting reform is really all about. It should be the foundation for any debates about it. Here is the back cover and concluding chapter. Pardon the crude presentation.

  • Here is a table designed to clear up confusion about the terminology of voting systems. It explains what the different systems are, and there is nothing new about them. It gives them terms which describe what they are.

  • Here is a very good explanation of party list systems and an analysis of the effect one would have on Ontario. It touches on several subjects not often brought into discussion of voting reform, such as aboriginal representation.


  • Here is a readable article about all the history of voting, and the various voting system that have been used or proposed.


    • some essays about the French Runoff system, and about runoffs in general, because it looks like there will be an attempt to introduce it in Canada.


  • Proportionnal representation in France is not a lost cause !


  • A very good university essay on how to improve the electoral system in France. ( Hope he got an A.)


  • The French political system


  • Voting reform; from the two "I"s to the big "F"


  • FairVote's back grounder on AV

    • Here is a worthwhile read about how the Ontario referendum began, and the initial research they did.

    4. advanced democracy
    5. ongoing history

  • making local elections work in Toronto

  • STV: Your guide through the spin and the fear
    BY DENNIS PILON | MAY 7, 2009

  • Why is the Alternative Vote a phony reform?

  • A closed list proportional system for Ontario.

  • Fairvote capitol regions submission to the citizen's assembly

  • An argument for a closed list system presented to the citizen's assembly on voting reform

  • very thorough explanation of what went wrong in the Ontario ,07 randum

    •
  • during the ,07 randum; in the papers.

  • A summary of the citizen's assembly from the U.S. Sniderblog

  • the citizens assembly report ( 27 pages)

  • ...and if you are really into this stuff, here is their full report (280 pages)

  • Someone Klomps into the MMP Ontario debate to explain why they do it better in Holland.

  • Canadian Arab federation ( the two legged ones) weigh in at the MMP hearings

  • Voting reform has been long debated in Quebec, too. This summarizes progress up to 2007. Since then, the Liberals have killed it again.

  • brilliant article about the state of democracy in Canada, and the challenge that faced the citizens asembly in November of ,06.

  • what went wrong in B.C. in 2005.

  • what went wrong in PEI


    • Fair Vote Canada

    http://www.fairvote.ca/

    Vote Toronto

    http://www.votetoronto.ca/

    Democratic world government

    http://www.voteworldgovernment.org/

    L'Association pour la revendication des droits démocratiques

    http://www.ardd.qc.ca/?page_id=81&lang=en