I have read with great interest newspaper comments regarding the referendum on the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system which will be up for consideration at the June 12 election and offer the following observations:
1. Whether STV is the "Best" system is academic. The vote will be between STV and the current first-past-the-post (FPTP) system which, as we add new parties, drives our system further toward minorities who rule and majorities which are unrepresented.
2. If simplicity were a required criteria, I would not drive a car, ride in a plane, listen to a radio, use a computer or watch tv. We live in a complex world.
3. While STV may not guarantee to mend a fragmenting society, it offers a better probability that among the candidates elected, one or more might share my ideas rather than having a single representative who may be ideologically opposed to my perception and ignores me.
4. Under STV I can vote for the person(s) I think best, rather than having to vote strategically at all times to try to avoid the person I think worst.
There are many reasons to vote for the STP system, but these, I think, deserve careful consideration.