[fvc-wat-disc] Basic Canvassing Script

[Joshua Smyth]

Here's the text of a basic script for door-to-door work. This is just
a quick job, so anyone feel free to edit it and bounce it back to the
list. Cheers

Vote for MMP – Quick Script


Hi there, I'm (blank) representing the Vote for MMP Campaign.  Have
you heard about the referendum on October 10th?

You'll have a chance to choose how you elect members to the Provincial
Legislature between the system we have right now, and a new system
called Mixed Member Proportional that has been recommended by the
Ontario Citizen's assembly.

The Citizens Assembly is a group of people that chosen at random (like
a jury), one person for each riding, that spent eight months getting
educated and having public consultations about possible changes to the
electoral system. At the end of this process, they recommended that
Ontario adopt a new system that offers more choice, fairer results,
and stronger representation.

Here's how the new system will work. When you go to the polls, you'll
get two votes. One will be for a local riding representative, just
like you have now. On the other side of the ballot, you can vote for
the party of your choice. In an election under the new system, there
will be 129 seats up for election. 90 of them will be riding seats,
just like we have now. The other 39 seats will be proportional seats,
that will be used to bring a party's share of the legislature as close
as possible  to their share of the party vote. If a party gets 35% of
the vote but only 30 % of the seats from ridings, they will be
allocated seats from the proportional section to get them as closes as
possible to 35% of the seats. This will be a big change from the
system we have now – the Liberals got 46% of the vote, 70% of the
seats, and 100% of the power in the last election, and the results
were very similar for the PC and NDP before them.  That is neither
fair nor representative of what the people of Ontario voted for.

As well, under the current system, if you vote for a party that
doesn't win locally, your vote is essentially wasted – no one goes to
parliament to represent your views. The new system would change that:
even if the local candidate you prefer doesn't win, your party vote
would work to electing MPPs from the party of your choice. No wasted
votes. It also means that if you like a local candidate, but don't
like his/her party, you can split your vote and still have your views
represented.

If you have any questions, feel free to give this brochure a look
over, or check out the websites listed on it. This is a
once-in-a-lifetime chance to change the way politics works in Ontario,
so on election day be sure to vote for the Alternative Electoral
System proposed by the citizens assembly  -  if it passes, your voice
will be heard much more clearly from now on. Thanks for your time.