ONE-VOTE, ONE-VALUE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA essays

ONE-VOTE, ONE-VALUE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA essays ONE-VOTE, ONE-VALUE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA "As nearly as practicable one man's vote in a congressional election is to be worth as much as another's" . One-vote, one-value means that each vote in an election is weighted equally, irrespective of whom that vote came from. This is an electoral system used in many democratic governments, and every state in Australia other than Western Australia. In the Western Australian electoral system, votes are weighted differently depending on which district they are from. This is called malapportionment. Votes from rural regions are weighted more heavily than those from urban areas. There have been many attempts at introducing the one-vote-one-value system in Western Australia, but all have failed. This is due mostly to the views of conservative parties and those of voters in these rural areas. It is because of this that it is said the notion of one-vote-one-value is a myth in the Western Australian legal system, meaning that it never has existed and it is not likely that it ever will. Howe ver, there is much support for the one-vote-one-value system, and dislike for the current system, and the popularity of the new system means that introducing one-vote-one-value in Western Australia is possible, even though it is unlikely. A one-vote-one-value system is an electoral system that is designed to achieve fairness in the representation of parties and voters. It does so because the number of elected representatives is proportional to the number of votes received by a party or candidate. A one-vote-one-value system would eliminate gerrymanders (the geographical division of electoral districts designed to give unfair advantages in one-party elections ) and give fairer representation of the people. Since democracy is based around equalising the power of all individuals, it is thought that one-vote-one-value is a vital system to be used. Heavier weighting of votes from rural areas in WA is thought to discri...