This is part of my Voters' Resources post.
Some people vote for the party whose platform they find most suitable
(the Best Party). If that's what you're trying to do, this post isn't for you. Go vote for the Best Party.
Other people try to prevent the party whose platform
they find most harmful (the Worst Party) from being elected, by voting
for the party that's most likely to defeat the Worst Party (the
Compromise Party). This is called strategic voting.
The most important thing about strategic voting is that your strategy has to apply to the reality in your riding. The media feeds us national
polls for breakfast every day, but they're not directly relevant.
Regardless of what the rest of the country is doing, your vote will only
be used to elect the MP for your own riding. If your riding is already disinclined to
elect the Worst Party, there's no point in a strategic vote - you'd
just end up making the Compromise Party look more popular than they
really are.
So here's what to do if your priority is stopping the Worst Party from winning:
1. Ask yourself: "If I don't vote, who's going to win in this particular riding?"
If
the answer is a party other than the Worst Party, vote for the Best
Party. If the answer is "the Worst Party" or "it's too close to tell,"
go on to step 2.
2. Ask yourself: "If I don't vote, who's most likely to defeat the Worst Party in this particular riding?"
This
is your Compromise Party. Read their platform. If it's acceptable,
vote for the Compromise Party. If it's not acceptable, vote for the Best
Party.
Remember: ignore the national polls; think only about the situation in your riding!
Links to tools to help you figure out what's going to happen in your riding are available in the Voters' Resources post
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