Introducing Vote YES Yukon!

I’m really stoked to introduce Vote YES Yukon, a non-partisan campaign in support of electoral reform during the current Yukon territorial election.

This year, the Yukon is having a plebiscite asking if the territory should adopt ranked voting, in place of the current system of first-past-the-post. I think it’s a great opportunity to show that change is possible – to improve politics in the Yukon, and also to be an inspiration to the rest of Canada.

I wrote a blog post in August in support of the plebiscite, and (as the saying goes) one thing led to another and here we are! 😄 You can read the launch post for Vote YES Yukon here,

Electoral reform – improving how we vote and choose our political representatives – has been talked about for years. The electoral system we use across Canada today, “first-past-the-post”, has a lot of downsides that lead to more polarization and more extreme political views.

Here in the Yukon, a citizens’ assembly of everyday Yukoners looked at how our electoral system could be improved. After a lot of discussion, the citizens’ assembly landed on ranked voting as the best option for the Yukon.

In ranked voting, you choose your candidates in order of preference – 1, 2, 3 and so on – when you vote. It gives you more of a choice than just picking one option, and it encourages political candidates to appeal to a broader range of the Yukon population.

At the same time, ranked voting keeps the local responsiveness and accountability of our current system. It’s a win-win!

I think the citizens’ assembly did a great job, and it’s fun to be able to champion their work. And, hopefully, see it translate into a lot of public support! The plebiscite is non-binding but if the results are positive, it could lead to eventually changing our territorial electoral system to ranked vote.

And, as a non-partisan public servant, it’s fun to be able to run a non-partisan political campaign! It doesn’t happen often. We have lawn signs getting printed and everything. (In classic public service style, yes, I filled out a conflict of interest disclosure to be doing this.)

If you live in the Yukon, check out the different ways you can get involved in the campaign. And, thanks for considering voting YES to electoral reform! 🎉

You can find Vote YES Yukon on Facebook, or see the French version of our campaign website here. Keep on being awesome!