It’s a cheeky question perhaps because Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (left) finished a clear 462 votes ahead of second place candidate Ken Chan (centre) on election night. Of course, it probably needs to be said that Ms Wong-Tam’s plurality of 7,527 was just a sliver of the 26,619 ballots cast in the populous City district. Ward 27 has the boundaries of the federal constituency of Toronto Centre. There were a stunning 15 candidates in this field and some of them, like Simon Wookey (right) with 2,128 ballots were probably more like-minded with Mr. Chan. There was also Chris Tindall with 3,447 votes, Joe Dick with 1,667 votes and Robert Maynell with 1,223. Ward 27 is the best example anyone might put forward for why Toronto should adopt the Ranked Ballot (or instant runoff) mechanism in municipal general elections. Ranked Balloting provides electors with a chance to pick a second and third choice from among the candidates. If there are 15 candidates, the voter can theoretically make 15 ranked choices. It then requires the local electoral officer and scrutineers (or election machines) to examine all the ballots for the voter’s run off choices In the end, it establishes a winner who can claim a clear majority. Ranked Ballots is a reform being discussed at City Hall for the 2018 election. It is in the mix with other reforms to the electoral process proposed by Mayor Ford. It should be adopted. Previous post.
