ELECTION REFORM

Before the CG can make the changes to the policies and programs that need to be made, some additional laws will need to be enacted to bring voting into the 21st century.  

These reforms should be received with enthusiasm as some of the proposed election reforms have already begun in many jurisdictions.  

The AAIM Option plan will start by increasing the staff levels of the Election Bureau (EB) so that the Bureau can better organize, monitor and promote the people’s participation in fair elections, by-elections, referendums and plebiscites.  The EB will also be tasked with investigating any report of election fraud or act contrary to the honest exchange of information, opinions and ideas. 

To reform the way we vote, the following laws are proposed; 

ELECTRONIC VOTING LAW:   

A new law allowing the use of a permanent electronic voting system that will be created by Albertans.  Doing so will allow a secure electronic voting system to be adopted for the citizens to use on an ongoing basis. 

PROVIDE ACCESS: 

Each citizen that is eligible to vote will be able to access the vote by any means, such as; 

1.  In person at a polling station, or by, 

2.  Mail in ballot,  

3.  Electronic devices (cell, tablet, laptop, computer) and by, 

4.  Landline.   

The electronic voting system will be accessed in the same way a person would log onto a computer with a user name provided by the Elections Bureau and a password or PIN known only by the voter. 

PROCESS THE VOTE: 

The electronic voting system will register each vote as an alpha numeric number set that can only be cross referenced to the voter by the Director of Elections who will maintain a registry of voters.  

Doing this will best ensure that all votes will be confidential, available only to government departments as statistic’s, or, as part of an investigation into electoral fraud.  

All results of a vote will remain secret for 24 hrs. so a complete audit of the electronic voting system can be conducted by the Auditor General.  Doing this will provide voters some confidence that the system was not compromised and the results of the vote are a true reflection of the peoples wishes.  

PUNISH THE BAD GUYS: 

Penalties for elections fraud or tampering with the voting system would be severe.  Recommendations for penalties to include;  

a. Being stripped of citizenship or shareholder status, and,  

b. Expulsion from the province, or,  

c. A fine of one million dollars, or,  

d. Five years imprisonment, or,  

e. A combination of the above. 

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS OF CITIZENSHIP LAW:   

The law will make it mandatory for all citizens, age 21 or older to vote during a municipal, provincial election or by-election as well as participate in any census, referendum and or plebiscite.   The mandatory vote will expire at the end of the referendum period.   

***This new law will have an expiry date that will be set by the CG once the referendum period is established.***  

CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY LAW:   

Any person that meets the following criteria would be eligible to be a candidate for a riding seat.  Candidates must be; 

1.  Born in Canada , or,  

2.  A resident  of Canada for more than twenty years and must; 

     a. Be at least 30 years of age. 

     b. Be a resident of the province of Alberta for more than 10 years.  

     c. Be a resident of the riding for more than five years. 

     d. Speak, read and write fluently in English. 

     e. Have no record of felony offences. 

RIGHT TO WITHDRAW LAW: 

After a honeymoon period of 6 months, any person that succeeds at winning a riding seat can be recalled by the people of the riding via a plebiscite result of 60%.  

Upon receiving a petition from the people with the names and signatures of more than 51% of the riding voters, the Director of Elections would issue a Notice of Discontent to the elected representative.  

The notice would provide a reason for the discontent and a date for a recall plebiscite. 

The elected representative would be given an opportunity to address the concern before the plebiscite vote.  

If the elected representative can satisfy the peoples concerns before the plebiscite date the Notice of Discontent can be withdrawn.   

RIGHT TO WITHHOLD LAW:   

Voters can withhold their vote.  If none of the candidates running can win a voter’s support, then the voter can select the abstain option on the ballot.  If the majority of the votes are abstain votes, the election will have to be repeated until a suitable candidate can be elected. 

ADDITIONAL REFORMS: 

To find a balance for our society an end must come to the current modus operandi of the party system, which seems to greatly favor unions, minority opinion and special interest groups over the majority.  This has proven to be disastrous to the economy and is fracturing our society with conflicting application, enforcement of the law and the ongoing erosion of the meaning of the rights and freedoms.  In equal measure all persons of our province have a place in our society.

POLLING 

Unless the poll includes the majority of the people then the results of the poll are useless and will not be published or presented by the mainstream media in every sector (internet, TV, print, etc.).  Therefore, a law to restrict the use of polling data will be created. 

REFERENDUMS 

It is proposed that the CG learn what the people really want.  That means all the people, not just a small segment of the people, cherry picked by the pollster or the sponsor of a poll to achieve a pre-determined goal.   Therefore, under the conditions outlined herein, the leadership of a new government should understand what the people think about a wide range of issues.