“Strategic voting”

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Some polls are showing a fairly close race ahead of election day, others are showing a significant appetite for change. Either way, next week voters across the country will be weighing their options before marking their ballot. But there’s a voting pattern that some people use called “stragegic voting” – where you vote for someone in an attempt to prevent another candidate from winning. Phil Perkins was looking into that strategy today.

After nearly ten years of Stephen Harper, some voters are looking for a change. And there’s a voting method that could grant them their wish, it’s called strategic voting.

Henry Jacek is a Professor of Political Science. “Strategic voting is really aimed at voters who are primarily concerned about preventing one of the candidates from winning, that’s more important than their first choice from actually winning.”

The 1999 Ontario general election was one of the first cases where strategic voting was used, Hamilton West Riding.

The NDP candidate was running against the incumbant Progressive Conservative, and towards the end of the campaign he put signs on top of his main signs that said ‘your strategic choice’. And the New Democrat won. That was actually David Christopherson that won.”

This week, a group bought a one-page ad in the globe and mail asking voters and candidates to work together to prevent Stephen Harper from being re-elected