GTA EVENT: Thinking Ahead to 2014: Taking a Critical Look at Local Elections, Nov 23

(36) Thinking Ahead to 2014: Taking a Critical Look at Local Elections

Better Ballots presents an evening discussion on local electoral reform.
"Thinking Ahead to 2014: Taking a Critical Look at Local Elections"
Wednesday, November 23 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm Oakham House, Ryerson University 63 Gould Street Toronto, ON
Although the dust is still settling from the 2010 municipal elections, it is never too early to look ahead to 2014 – not in terms of who might be running, but rather looking at the rules around how citizens cast their votes. One year ago, voter turnout in Toronto barely reached the 50% mark, and women and visible minority candidates were once again poorly represented on the new Council. There is clearly room for improvement.

Better Ballots is a non-partisan group exploring options to make municipal elections more relevant, fair and participatory. The group has put forward 14 options for voting reform, such as term limits, ranked ballots, a lower voting age, proportionality and local parties. How would these options look in Toronto? What benefits might these changes bring? What would it take to get people more engaged with municipal elections? What role does provincial regulation play in improving the ability of municipalities to innovate, and how does this fit into the larger discussion of increased powers for Ontario's towns and cities? Join us for an open discussion of the pros and cons of local electoral reform.

Featuring:

• Alan Broadbent, Maytree Foundation
• Paul Farrelly, Vote Toronto
• Sarah Lambert, Ranked Ballot Initiative
• William Molls, VoteTO16
• Rob Newman, Better Ballots Campaign
• Wayne Smith, FairVote Canada
• Kristyn Wong-Tam, Toronto City Councillor
• Leonardo Zúñiga, iVote Toronto

Better Ballots is an initiative of the Emerging Leaders Network