Nearly 25 years after the Good Friday pact that ended an era of political violence known as the Troubles, security gates separating trade union and nationalist communities are looming across Belfast. Many gates are closed at night, and some are barely open. Their presence reminds passers-by that clashes continue, even though violence has greatly diminished.
On April 18, 2019, that conflict spilled over into our global consciousness with a deadly shooting. 29-year-old journalist Lila McKee A paramilitary organization known as the New IRA. This murder of a Truce baby, a member of a promising generation that has matured after trouble, is a tragic reminder that progress is fragile.
But there are more lessons here.
My trip to Belfast took place in the shadow of Lyra’s death, and the grief of this country was palpable. In search of understanding, I took a black cab tour through the former war districts, saw murals on the walls depicting the differences, and signed the walls of peace that still divide communities. Did. But I knew there must be more.
After falling down the Google rabbit hole, I found the best voting essay I’ve ever read. Claire Mitchell’s “Can Northern Ireland change?‘ offers a way forward while documenting the desperation of her country. she wrote: And repeat it over and over. Hope must be chosen carefully. ”
For Mitchell, that choice starts with voting.
“Listen to the children of the truce,” she pleaded, putting Lyra’s generation more focused on whether they could have a home, a job and a better planet to live on than a united Ireland. “I don’t care if I vote for the big party or the small party,” concludes Mitchell. “The eyes of these children, whether they are Irish or English, or both, whether they are gay, whether they are straight, whether they are brown or white, Watch and vote, and know that you voted for someone with a better vision of the future than this one.”
Inspired by her call to action, I asked my newfound friend to connect me to a party focused on our shared future in Belfast. I skipped and went out to campaign with Green Party candidate Brian Smith.
With less than 48 hours to go before the city council elections, Brian was feeling the familiar glow of rising candidates who are ecstatic, exhausted, and about to start laughing, crying, or both at the same time.Claire Bailey then-chairman of the Green Party And a member of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland took me under her wing and sympathized with me for acrimonious partisanship, double standards for women and leadership fatigue. I found a comrade in
And finally, this brings me to my point. Northern Ireland is he one of the most polarized places in the world, but politicians like Claire and Brian are leading the way. A new political party unconstrained by past politics find your place in the arenaand Northern Ireland would benefit from that diversity.
we will too.
First off, I’m not starting a third party. I am happy wherever I am But I believe competition breeds progress. Political parties without viable opponents are vulnerable to powerful influencers who predetermine the outcome.
In our current system, fledgling parties that can increase voter choice have no chance. One solution to improve those odds is to face a critical deadline on the Senate Judiciary Committee next week. Senate Bill 401 Approves Ranked Choice Vote In every partisan primary, special election, and nonpartisan general election.
last year, Congress established the RCV in a special election Held for federal and vacant county legislative seats. The bill seeks to expand on that innovation, and if amended to include partisan general elections, it would be a game changer.
Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If the first option doesn’t get enough votes to win, the votes automatically move to the next option.
according to Reform Advocate FairVote, RCV “relieves voters from worrying about how others will vote and which candidates are more or less likely to win” and allows candidates to “vote with like-minded individuals”. It allows you to “compete without fear of splitting”. Voters are willing to give new candidates and parties a chance because they know that their vote will not be wasted if the newcomers don’t garner enough support.
Northern Ireland Election Use proportional rank selection vote, a type of RCV. In 2022, FairVote said that the PRCV will “help bridge sectarian differences between nationalist and unionist parties” in Northern Ireland and “help resolve the polarization and governance challenges facing the United States.” found that it could be useful for
Walking around East Belfast with Claire showed me how it works.
In many ways, this experience was similar to my campaign in the Mililani home district. Some residents were out, others were hidden when I knocked. The rustling of the window curtains let them loose. But most voters were happy to listen.
“I like her, but she can’t win” may be the epitome of my political career. I have spent a lot of time on Claire had to do the same, but her pitch was a more logical proposition. If she chooses us first and we fail, your vote will be her second choice. With the RCV system, trying something new is less of a gamble. Vote for what you want, not what you think you can get.
Brian Smith won the electionThe Green Party and the League Party, Northern Ireland’s largest ‘cross-community’ party, have made big gains.Leader of the Alliance Party after the election Naomi Long reportedly said It was “a landmark election…many voters chose to reject the ‘tribal politics’ of unionism and nationalism”.
If voters see another party or candidate as a viable option, many of them will choose to change.
In Hawaii, a ranked choice poll might just add a wider candidate in the Democratic primary or a left-leaning party in the general election poll. Opens the field to new ideas and visions for progress. And while we know the system won’t change overnight, Congress can now move us forward.
