Toronto media have been writing about their support of ranked ballots since the inception of RaBIT.

Here's what just a few people have had to say over the years. 

 

Catherine Porter: 

Ranked choice voting "guarantees that whoever is elected mayor wins with a majority and it wipes out strategic voting. It means you can vote with your heart not your calculator."

- Why is it torture at the ballot box? Toronto Star (Sep. 25, 2010)

 

Jerry Agar: 

"Our whole system is broken. We shouldn't be the victims of a system that makes winners out of losers. There is a better way to do this. It's called instant runoff!"

- Jerry Agar Show, Newstalk 1010

 

Matt Elliott: 

"Our current electoral system is unfair and leads to vote splitting. Ranked ballots are a simple fix for a complex problem."

- Five items for council's agenda (that aren't plastic bags or casinos), Metro Canada (May 23, 2012)

 

Jonathan Goldsbie: 

"Instant runoff voting would tackle so many of our current system’s deficiencies at once."

- Casting ballots for voting reform in Toronto, National Post (August 6, 2012)

 

Andrew Coyne: 

"The ranked ballot would be a vast improvement on the status quo."

- Toronto voting proposal might be last shot at electoral reform in Canada, National Post (March 8, 2013) 

 

Royson James: 

"What it clearly does is reduce vote-splitting; end the need for strategic voting that sees electors vote against a candidate of choice simply to stop a someone they fear; guarantee that the winner gets a majority of the votes; and boosts our political system."

- Toronto council takes a stab at serious change, Toronto Star (June 12, 2013)

 

Edward Keenan: 

"In this city, every election in recent memory has been a mathematical exercise in interpreting polls to theorize about your neighbours’ intentions, so you can vote for someone viable you dislike the least, in order to avoid electing someone you hate the most. ... That game-theory democracy should be coming to an end. Ranked ballots should be coming to Toronto elections, pretty much immediately."

- It's about time for ranked ballots, and John Tory agrees, Toronto Star (March 25, 2015)

 

The Globe and Mail:

"A ranking of choices could re-energize local elections, giving citizens a sense of possibility, rather than a depressing inevitability."

- Give voters a chance to rank their preferences ( June 1, 2015)

 

Toronto Star: 

"The system encourages less negative campaigns because candidates don’t want to completely alienate voters who might put them down as second or third choice. It also discourages candidates who focus only on their core supporters while angering most others. Eventually, the winner has to attract a majority of votes.

Ranked balloting may also encourage more diversity on council. Right now, only 14 per cent of Toronto councillors are minorities in a city where just over half the population is from visible minorities."

- Toronto should adopt ranked ballots (June 1, 2015)