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Fair Vote Canada 
: Democracy shouldn't be a guessing game. Vote for who you believe in—and get the representation you deserve. Demand proportional representation! #cdnpoli #Election2025
veritasium.com/…/why-democracy-is-mathematically-…
The title is clickbaity but the point stands. PR is just a different kind of suboptimal. If you want election reform, please push for something more modern than just another system with inherent problems.
@cdegroot @AlolanVulpix What did you have in mind? I watched the whole video and I didn't see PR mentioned at all. He was pretty down on ranked choice voting as a voting method, but then seemed to say at least it's better than FPTP. He also said most countries in the world use ranked choice voting to elect their leaders, which... is not true. He seemed keen on approval voting, which I've read can also be used with multi-winner proportional systems, though I think that's pretty theoretical. Either way, seems like less suboptimal is always a worthwhile direction to go.
You’re exactly right, @cosmo. PR isn’t mentioned in the video specifically - it’s primarily about voting mechanisms (how voters express preferences) rather than seat allocation methods (how those preferences translate to representation).
The video does contain some inaccuracies. At 1:19, it claims FPTP is used in 44 countries, but fails to mention that most democracies use some form of proportional representation. And it conflates ranked-choice voting with instant-runoff voting, which leads to confusion.
The key insight is that proportionality and ballot type are separate issues:
- You can have proportional systems using various ballot types (ranked, rated, or simple choice)
- What makes a system proportional is how votes translate to seats, not how preferences are marked
You’re absolutely correct that approval voting (a rated system) can be adapted for proportional representation through systems like Proportional Approval Voting or Satisfaction Approval Voting. Similarly, ranked ballots can be used in proportional systems like Single Transferable Vote (STV).
The fundamental question isn’t which ballot type to use, but whether the system ensures that citizens get the representation they voted for. In our current system, roughly half of all valid votes elect nobody at all.
As you say - moving toward less suboptimal is worthwhile! And on that metric, proportional representation clearly outperforms our current system.
