1923 Edmonton municipal election

Last updated

The 1923 municipal election was held December 10, 1923 to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on the public school board. Robert Crossland, Paul Jenvrin, Thomas Magee, and Joseph Henri Picard were acclaimed to two-year terms on the separate school board.

Contents

There were ten aldermen on city council, but four of the positions were already filled: Joseph Adair, James Collisson, Daniel Knott, and Rice Sheppard (SS) were all elected to two-year terms in 1922 and were still in office. Kenneth Alexander Blatchford had also been elected to a two-year term in 1922, but had resigned in order to run for mayor. Accordingly, William Rea was elected to a one-year term.

There were seven trustees on the public school board, but three of the positions were already filled: W. H. Alexander, L. T. Barclay, and E. T. Bishop had all been elected to two-year terms in 1922 and were still in office. The same was true on the separate board, where P M Dunne, J J Murray (SS), and Joseph Gariépy were continuing.

In line with the result of an electoral reform plebiscite conducted during the 1922 election, the 1923 election was the first to make use of the single transferable vote system to elect councillors. The system used a city-wide district as had been in use before. The difference was now that each voter would have just one vote and the voter would mark back-up preferences on a preferential ballot. The system ensured that both Independent (business) candidates and Labour candidates would be elected and that the most popular candidates in each slate would be elected. There was less counting of votes involved compared to previous years' elections because each voter could cast just one vote in the aldermanic contest, instead of six votes each as had been the case under Plurality block voting.

As another part of the electoral reform done at this time, the mayor was elected through Instant-runoff voting. This combination of STV and IRV would be used through 1927.

Voter turnout

There were 13,016 votes cast out of 22,077 eligible voters, for a voter turnout of 58.9%.

The number of spoiled votes was higher than any previous election but its exact number is unclear. It seems though that their presence did not have an impact on the fairness of the election.

The number of spoiled votes varied from the mayoral and the aldermanic contests. At least 1200 were spoiled in the aldermanic contest, where the number of candidates was larger than the mayoral contest. Some of the spoiled votes were ballots improperly filled out (say with an X instead of a number showing ranking), but some were declared spoiled for contests where the pertinent part of the ballot was simply left blank, such as no first-choice preference being marked for mayor or no first-choice preference was marked for an alderman. The number of spoiled ballots was larger than any previous city election but due to the use of STV in the aldermanic election, the final result in this election meant that only 3494 voters (out of 11,851) did not see their first choice elected. [1]

Results

Mayor

PartyCandidateVotes %Elected
Independent Kenneth Alexander Blatchford 8,31465.28%Green check.svgY
Independent James Ramsey 4,42134.72%

Aldermen

Six seats open. 11,851 valid votes.

Quota of votes was 1693. This number guaranteed election but it was possible to be elected with fewer. [2]

Two southside candidates had to be elected. [3]

PartyCandidateInitial VotesElected
Labour James East 3,004Green check.svgY
Independent Ambrose Bury 1,993Green check.svgY
Independent William Rea1,150Green check.svgY
Independent James McCrie Douglas 928SSGreen check.svgY
Independent Thomas Ducey789
Labour James Findlay707Green check.svgY
Independent Archie Rendall703
Independent Joseph Duggan563SSGreen check.svgY
Independent J. J. McKenzie420SS
Independent Esther Saunders*380
Independent J. Boyd McBride317
Independent A. K. Putland312SS
Labour H. J. Pallot308
Labour Jan Lakeman 265SS

14 candidates ran for the six seats open this year.

10 counts were required to see all the seats filled under the STV/PR system in use.

As votes were transferred in the nine counts that followed the first count, the candidates' relative popularity changed. Ducey and Rendall received many initial votes but did not get quota and did not get enough votes in later counts to get a seat.

Rea was third in the first count but did not receive many vote transfers and eventually was declared elected to serve one-year term, the consolation prize. He was the least popular (last elected) of the northside candidates.

As seen in the above vote tallies, the front runners in the first count were mixed, belonging to both Independent (business) and Labour slates. This was the result of single voting in a multi-member district.

East and Bury were elected on first count, receiving quota. Their surplus votes were transferred to prevent waste and to ensure rough proportionality of the election result.

The second count was the distribution of East's surplus votes. Findlay received enough vote transfers from East to achieve quota on the 2nd count.

The 3rd Count was transfer of Bury's surplus votes. The 4th count was transfer of Findlay's surplus votes.

Then the least-popular candidates were eliminated one by one until the next seat was filled. Lakeman, Pallot, Putnam, McBride, Saunders and McKenzie were eliminated before that happened.

Rea achieved quota on the 10th count to take a seat. His surplus votes were not transferred because the field of candidates was such that the remaining seat would be immediately filled.

Rea's election left only two seats empty (and four candidates still standing).

Northsiders Thomas Ducey and Rendall, and two southside candidates were left standing by this point.

No southsiders had been elected so the two remaining seats had to be filled by southsiders.

Rendall and Ducey were eliminated, there being no northside seats left to win.

The two southside candidates (Douglas and Duggan) were allocated seats to fill the two vacancies for guaranteed southside representation, as was announced the next day. [4]

There was no business slate per se.

On the other hand, the Labour element of the city had put forward Labour Party candidates. But the STV election did not involve parties. Voters cast votes directly for individual candidates.

East and Findlay were newly elected Labour candidates. Rice Sheppard and Dan Knott were sitting labour councillors and had one more year in their terms so Labour, with four seats, had good representation in the 1924 city council. Through the next several city elections, held using STV, Labour maintained its grip on the four seats, a very dependable result produced by a dependable scientific method. [5]

Other than the change produced by the southside quota, all the candidates in winning positions in the first count were elected by the end after transfers, but single voting in multi-winner contest assured that each party received its due share of seats.

Public school trustees

Four seats needed to be filled in this election. Each voter cast one vote as per STV.

PartyCandidateInitial VotesElected
Labour Samuel Barnes 3,239Green check.svgY
Independent F. S. McPherson1,769Green check.svgY
Labour Frank Crang1,740SSGreen check.svgY
Independent Ralph Bellamy1,643Green check.svgY
Independent George Steer1,054
Labour Robert McCreath1,015
Independent George Massey442

The necessary quota to win a seat was 2183 (the total of votes divided by five, plus one).

Barnes achieved this in first count to get a seat.

Enough of his surplus went to Frank Crang who thus got a seat in the second count.

Bellamy and McPherson were elected in the fifth count, held after Massey and Steer had been eliminated, their second choices being distributed.

McCreath, who had picked up many votes in the second and third counts (thus moving up from the bottom of the pack where candidates were being eliminated), was dropped off in the fifth count, leaving only two candidates left to fill the two remaining slots, thus Bellamy and McPherson were elected. [6]

The four candidates in winning positions wre elected in the end after transfers, but the single voting in multi-winner contest ensured that both parties were represented among them.

Separate (Catholic) school trustees

Robert Crossland (SS), Paul Jenvrin, Thomas Magee, and Joseph Henri Picard were acclaimed.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proportional representation</span> Voting system that makes outcomes proportional to vote totals

Proportional representation (PR) refers to any type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions among voters. The essence of such systems is that all votes cast – or almost all votes cast – contribute to the result and are effectively used to help elect someone – not just a bare plurality or (exclusively) the majority – and that the system produces mixed, balanced representation reflecting how votes are cast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single transferable vote</span> Proportional representation ranked voting system

The single transferable vote (STV), sometimes known as proportional ranked choice voting (P-RCV), is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate preferences if their preferred candidate is eliminated or elected with surplus votes, so that their vote is used to elect someone they prefer over others in the running. STV aims to approach proportional representation based on votes cast in the district where it is used, so that each vote is worth about the same as another.

In the study of electoral systems, the Droop quota is the minimum number of votes needed for a candidate to be elected under STV systems used today. It is the preferred quota, being known to be less likely than the Hare quota, to give majority of seats to a minority party. It is the smallest portion of votes that elects the correct number of members to fill the seats, but no more than that number.

In the study of apportionment, the Harequota is the number of voters represented by each legislator under a system of proportional representation. In these voting systems, the quota is the number of votes that guarantees a candidate, or a party in some cases, captures a seat. The Hare quota is the total number of votes divided by the number of seats to be filled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1930 Alberta general election</span>

The 1930 Alberta general election was held on June 19, 1930, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1926 Alberta general election</span>

The 1926 Alberta general election was held on June 28, 1926, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The United Farmers of Alberta government that had first been elected in 1921 was re-elected, taking a majority of the seats in the Alberta Legislature. Herbert Greenfield had resigned as United Farmers leader and premier, and John E. Brownlee led the UFA to this second election victory, increasing the UFA's number of seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calgary (provincial electoral district)</span> Defunct provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada

Calgary was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return one to six members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1913, and again from 1921 to 1959. The district largely encompassed the boundaries of the City of Calgary, and was revised accordingly as the city grew.

The single transferable vote (STV) is a proportional representation voting system that elects multiple winners. It is one of several ways of choosing winners from ballots that rank candidates by preference. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to their most-preferred candidate. Candidates are elected (winners) if their vote tally reaches quota. After this 1st Count, if seats still remain open, surplus votes are transferred from winners to remaining candidates (hopefuls) according to the surplus ballots' next usable back-up preference. if no surplus votes have to be transferred, then the least-popular candidate is eliminated so the vote has chance to be placed on a candidate who can use it.

The Edmonton provincial electoral district also known as Edmonton City from 1905 to 1909, was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1917 and again from 1921 to 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmer Roper</span> Canadian politician

Elmer Ernest Roper was a Canadian businessman, trade unionist and politician. He was a Alberta Co-operative Commonwealth Federation member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1942-1955, and mayor of Edmonton 1959-1963.

The 1927 Manitoba general election was held on 28 June 1927 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. The result was a second consecutive victory for Manitoba farmers, following its 1922 win.

CPO-STV, or the Comparison of Pairs of Outcomes by the Single Transferable Vote, is a ranked voting system designed to achieve proportional representation. It is a more sophisticated variant of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, designed to overcome some of that system's perceived shortcomings. It does this by incorporating some of the features of Condorcet's method, a voting system designed for single-winner elections, into STV. As in other forms of STV, in a CPO-STV election more than one candidate is elected and voters must rank candidates in order of preference. As of February 2021, it has not been used for a public election.

Historically, the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system has seen a series of relatively modest periods of usage and disusage throughout the world; however, today it is seeing increasing popularity and proposed implementation as a method of proportional representation and a goal of electoral reform. STV has been used in many different local, regional and national electoral systems, as well as in various other types of bodies, around the world.

There are a number of complications and issues surrounding the application and use of single transferable vote proportional representation that form the basis of discussions between its advocates and detractors.

The 1917 municipal election was held December 10, 1917, to elect a mayor and seven aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards. There were also two plebiscite questions asked.

The 1921 municipal election was held December 12, 1921 to elect a mayor and seven aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on the public school board. F A French, Paul Jenvrin, Thomas Magee, and Joseph Henri Picard were acclaimed to two-year terms on the separate school board.

The 1926 municipal election was held December 13, 1926, to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and three trustees to sit on the public school board. Harry Carrigan, J O Pilon, and W D Trainor were acclaimed to two-year terms on the separate school board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright system</span> Single transferable vote counting rule

The Wright system is a refinement of rules associated with proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) electoral system. It was developed and written by Anthony van der Craats, a system analyst and life member of the Proportional Representation Society of Australia. It is described in a submission into a parliamentary review of the 2007 Australian federal election.

In elections that use the single transferable vote (STV) method, quotas are used (a) for the determination of candidates considered elected; and (b) for the calculation of surplus votes to be redistributed. Two quotas in common use are the Hare quota and the Droop quota. The largest remainder method of party-list proportional representation can also use Hare quotas or Droop quotas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1917 Calgary municipal election</span> Municipal election 1917 in Calgary, Canada

The 1917 Calgary municipal election took place on December 10, 1917, to elect a mayor to a one-year term, and a commissioner and six aldermen to two year terms, and three aldermen for a one-year term. These officials sat on the thirty-fourth Calgary City Council. In addition, four members for the Public School Board, three members for the Separate School Board were elected. Also, voters voted on three plebiscites on early closing and half holiday for businesses, payment for aldermen, and election of commissioners for two years.

References

  1. ↑ Edmonton Bulletin, December 12, 1923, p. 1
  2. ↑ Edmonton Bulletin, December 11, 1923
  3. ↑ Edmonton Bulletin, December 11, 1923
  4. ↑ Edmonton Bulletin, December 12, 1923
  5. ↑ Edmonton Bulletin, December 15, 1927
  6. ↑ Edmonton Bulletin, December 12, 1923

City of Edmonton: Edmonton Elections

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.