Nick

You are putting more effort into casting a vote than most Canadians--and most citizens where western democracy thrives. If more voters went through this kind of analysis, we would have a different kind of government. And probably better.

But most voters cannot or will not put in this effort. I don't know how we can fix this.

Medium contributor Allen Milne Lees has written a book about this. His proposition is that 86% of us do not understand the issues well enough to vote wisely. So the vote should belong to the 14% who are wise. I don't know where he got his figures from, but there is some credibility to these numbers.

One obvious flaw of Mr. Lee's system is who decides who belongs to the 14%? He did not answer this question. But he spends a lot of time showing us why political parties are so incompetent. That is a good reason to read his book. Here's my review:

https://medium.com/politically-speaking/book-review-why-democracy-failed-b63f263d325e

As you know, I am offering a different kind of democracy. Unlike Mr. Lees, I say everyone has the right to vote and they should be encouraged to vote--even if they fall far short of Mr. Lees' standard.

They will be casting their vote based on their understanding of "good character and capacity for governance." And they will be voting for someone in their neighborhood who they know reasonably well.

This voting logic is much different than traditional reasons for casting a vote.

Anyways, that is my two cents for your interesting article.