List Proportional Representation

How It Works:

  • There are fewer, or possibly only one, electoral districts, within which multiple candidates are elected.

How You Vote:

  • You cast a single vote for your preferred party, or in some cases your preferred candidate.
  • Political parties are awarded a proportion of seats based on the proportion of votes they received.
    • Example: Party A receives 30% of the vote. They are awarded 30% of the seats in the legislature. Of Yukon’s current 19 seats, Party A would receive 6 seats.

Who Decides Which Individual Candidates Win Seats:

  • There are two types of List Proportional Representation systems: Closed and Open.
    • Closed: Each party ranks their potential candidates internally. Those ranked lists are not available to the public. As each party is awarded seats, they are allocated to candidates according to that party’s rank order.
    • Open: The parties’ ranked lists are available to the public. 
  • Alternatively, voters may vote for a single candidate. The party affiliation of that candidate contributes to the proportional vote, while the individual candidate’s total votes determines their ranking within their party’s list.
    • Example: Candidate A (Party A) receives 10% of the vote, Yukon-wide, more than any other members of Party A. 
    • Their 10% contributes to Party A’s total proportion of the vote. 
    • Having the highest individual vote count within Party A ranks them first and secures them one of Party A’s proportional seats.

What Should I Consider:

  • As there may be as few as one electoral district, the elected candidates may not accurately represent the variety of communities and populations of the Yukon.
  • This system increases the likelihood of minority or coalition governments, as parties in a multi-party system are less likely to receive a majority of votes.

 

For more information on the electoral system options for Yukon, please see the report prepared by Keith Archer.

 

Special Committee on Electoral Reform