WITH or without the supporting evidence of an opinion poll, one thing that can be said with certainty is that a majority of islanders would like island-wide voting when it comes to selecting their States members.

The States Assembly and Constitution Committee already knew that before it examined the returns from the 6,837 individuals who completed its survey, the biggest single response to a States questionnaire, but at least now has the back-up information to support its case.

Nevertheless, while most like the idea of an unrestricted franchise when selecting 45 deputies, many – including this newspaper – have reservations about how it would be carried out in practice.

Local web and e-media agency Submarine carried out a simulated online island-wide voting exercise two years ago and it demonstrated two things: IWV significantly favours sitting candidates and those ‘voters’ who took part found it an arduous process selecting 45 candidates from a field of 88. That would certainly be the case for any elector trying to be diligent and reading all the manifestoes and other published or broadcast material from them.

Hustings meetings would similarly be problematic. Anyone attending the parish versions will know how unsatisfactory such a forum can be with, say, 10 candidates, let alone 100.

Similarly for those seeking election. Conducting a door-to-door campaign is possible in a parish or electoral district, but across the island..?

There are other difficulties with IWV, including who would be responsible for representing the interests of individual parishioners, and even with the role of deputy itself.

As things stand, members have a special duty to be accessible to the people of the electoral district for which they have been elected to serve and to represent their interests conscientiously. That is particularly important for matters like incineration or runway extensions where residents need to have a voice.

That said, the enthusiasm islanders have for island-wide voting is such that SACC is right to continue investigating it, if only to rule it out once and for all.

But if SACC can make it work, its members will be feted by voters.