Losing my electoral virginity...

...was a lot more confusing than I expected. (And the ballot box more claustrophobic.) I've written it up for your viewing pleasure; its 'form' is the bildungsoped, a new hybrid of the bildungsroman and the oped. (At last check, bildungsoped had not a single google hit--could be an original!)

Right... Anyway, the Walrus magazine article is about Ontario's looming--and crucial--referendum on electoral reform and is called "Blown Into Proportion." If the proposal for a proportional system--derived by a citizens' assembly--is passed, Canadian politics will be dramatically transformed.

The story begins,

They say you never forget your first time, but they usually don’t say why. For mine, not long ago, I had to climb a steep hill in the rain. I was a nervous eighteen-year-old university student living in Montreal. I entered the polling station, looked down, and felt nothing.

...

Imagine Ottawa’s metamorphosis: a small but strong Green Party; the Bloc Québécois cut almost in half ... the PMO reined in by Parliament; stable coalition governments. For much of the old guard, this would be a nightmare.

Read on.




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In other news, I've finished my internship at The Walrus; I'm currently "writing" and also applying for various grants and programmes of higher education.