Questionnaire for June 22nd byelection candidates
By admin. Filed in Uncategorized |
Today I sent a questionnaire to each of the 11 candidates running in the Yarmouth and Glace Bay byelections. I will post all responses tomorrow.
—————————————————-
June 20, 2010
Dear candidate,
On June 22nd, voters in Glace Bay and Yarmouth will elect two new MLAs to represent their riding in Province House.
The Know How They Vote Campaign would like to let its supporters know which candidates are committed to putting an end to anonymous voting in the NS Legislature. In the past 13 years, less than 1% of all votes at Second and Third Reading were recorded in Hansard, the official record of Legislature business in Nova Scotia. This is a stark contrast to the federal House of Commons where nearly 100% of all votes are recorded.
The practice of anonymous voting is shameful. Without an objective record of votes tallied in the Legislature, citizens are unable to carry out their role in holding their MLAs to account. While many MLAs currently in the House believe that their word is a reliable source of information on voting records, recent events in the Legislature have proven that citizens needn’t and shouldn’t subject themselves to the good word of their MLA.
In the Nova Scotia legislature, only two MLAs are required to demand a recorded vote. With two byelections this summer, you have the opportunity and the responsibility to stand up for accountability and transparency by answering the following questions:
1. Do you support an end to anonymous voting?
2. If elected MLA, will you stand before each vote at Second and Third Reading in the House and demand that the vote be recorded in Hansard?
3. If elected MLA, will you publicly support a meeting of the Committee on Assembly Matters in the fall of 2010 to officially and permanently make recorded votes the rule, and not the exception, in the Legislature?
On Monday, June 21st, the Know How They Vote campaign will release all candidates’ responses to these questions on its website and via press release. We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Michael Kennedy
Director, Know How They Vote NS
www.knowhowtheyvotens.com
902-270-6487
