As of midnight this evening, Canada’s two most popular newspapers were running two contradictory headlines on their online Home Pages:
The Toronto Star, after endorsing Dion today:
Tory majority possible: poll
The Globe and Mail, after endorsing Harper yesterday:
Decline in support spells minority government for Tories: poll
These reports refer to two different polls in which the results vary by one percentage in both the Liberal and Conservative national tally. They are both well within the margin of error, making them identical in the mind of any respectable statistician. What can we learn from this?
This election, media driven polls have been for people to read about the race instead of participating in it. They create a narrative and sell newspapers and ad space. The polls that matter are being used by non-partisan organizations to achieve an end. On that note, we offer up our most important post of the election, redux:
It’s election time, and all of us are prone to hyperbole, but what we’re about to write next is really, really, important.
If you only do one thing this election (besides vote), do this:
Tell everyone you know about this website:
voteforenvironment.ca
It is an interactive site that uses current polls, and previous election results, to allow each Canadian to research how to best use their vote to defeat Stephen Harper depending on what riding they live in.
A tool like this completely transforms the concept of strategic voting. Each riding has its own math, and each voter has their own decision making process within those mathematics. This is not Buzz Hargrove telling supporters to vote for a single party that may not be competitive against Conservatives in many ridings, and may rob progressives of legitimate seats in others.
The brilliance of the site is that it allows each of us to see the numbers their vote will become a part of and make an informed decision. With a divided coalition of centre-left parties, the outcome of the election may depend on how popular this site becomes. We will repeat, to be super clear that what you read was not a typo:
The outcome of the election may depend on how popular this site becomes.
You can impact the election by increasing this website’s profile. Personalized emails are best, but if you need to cut and paste, work with this:
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Friends, Family, and Co-Workers,
I am writing to you to let you know about a new website that has been launched with much fanfare this week:
voteforenvironment.ca
It allows Canadians to explore the math behind the neighborhood they reside, and make an informed decision about how to vote to defeat the Conservative candidate where they live.
Thanks for taking the time to read my mass email. I wouldn’t have sent it if it wasn’t incredibly important. Please forward this site to your contacts if you find it useful and are terrified of the consequences of a Stephen Harper majority government.
Sincerely,
Me
