VOTING REFORM.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 781, 2 April 1910, Page 6

VOTING REFORM.

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION. By Telegraph—Press Association—Gosrrighl London, March 31. In the House of Commons, Mr. A. Williams, Liberal member for Plymouth, moved an academic resolution in favour of proportional representation. It was adopted without division THE SOCIETY'S PROPOSALS. The platform of .the Proportional Eβpresentation Society (president, Lord Avebury) is as follows:— ■ ' 1. To reproduce the opinions of the electors in Parliament and other publio bodies in their true proportions. 2. To secure that the majority of electors shall' rule, and . all considerable minorities shall be heard. '3. To give eleotors a. wider freedom in the choiod' of repreeentaiivee. \ \i. To,give, representativee greater inde. J pence from the financial and otier pressure of small sections of constituents.- . 5. To ensure' to parties representation by their aWest and most trusted members. .■,-.,,.■: Methods.—l. Unite existing constituencies into larger ones returning three or more members each, having regard to natural divisions of the country, such as. large comities, or:, parts of- counties; give each constituency so formed a number, of members proportionate to its electorate, tho total number of tho House of Commons being the same as at present, or smaller. ■■' '.■•■' - . 2. Decide elections by a proportional system, such as that known as. the /'Single Transferable Vote," under, which 'each elector has one vote, and-one vote only. Tho elector ■ votes— ' (a) By placing the figure 1 opposite the name of the candidate he likes best., He is also invited to place., (b) The figure 2 opposite the name of his .second choice.

(o) The figure 3 opposite the name of his third choice, and so on, .numbering as many candidates as he pleases in the order.of his preference. "A candidate, to ensure election, need not poll a majority, but only a certain proj>ortion of the votes cast. This proportion, which is the least number of votes sufficient to render certain the election of a candidate, is called the Quota. Thus, in a single-member constituency a candidate who polls one more than' half the votes must be elected; the quota is therefore'one more than .half. So, in a two-member constituency the quota is one more than. a third," for. not mo-re than two candidates : can poll so much; and in:: a . three-member', constituency one more'tlian a fourth, and so on. Therefore, to ascertain the quota,' divido the total of the votes by one-more'Kan the number ■of seats to be filled, and add one to the result