Ontario’s Citizens’ Assembly (OCA) wrapped up an important phase of its deliberations by voting today in favour of Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) by a 3-to-1 margin over its second alternative, Single Transferable Vote (STV) — the vote was 75-to-25, with 1 spoiled ballot and 2 absent. The choice of MMP differs from British Columbia’s Citizens’ Assembly, which chose STV. But the choice of MMP for Ontario is a good one. STV might work better in B.C., where the ratio of people-to-representative is less than half of Ontario’s. An STV system for Ontario would mean a loss of local representation (since 5 local ridings would be combined into a district; given the larger number of people per riding and in some areas very large geographic areas, it’s clear that STV would make it much more difficult for representatives to represent all parts of the district). By choosing MMP, Ontario gets the benefits of both local representation and proportionality (i.e. a party receives its fair share of the seats in the legislature). The next phase for the OCA is to compare the preferred alternative (MMP) against the current system — first-past-the-post (or FPTP).