Victoria – How did BC mark their ballot in the electoral reform referendum? Over 42% of the ballots were mailed in. 61% preferred the traditional First Past the Post, which is what we are using now.
That means over one million BC voters took the time to vote and the majority made it clear, don’t change the way we vote.
This referendum delivers a serious blow to the NDP/Green coalition that wanted to change to a proportional ballot system. Critics claimed that the three alternatives were flawed. Two of the alternatives had never been used before.
This was especially disastrous to the Greens, who hung their political hat on this vote. One major fear was that fringe parties would have a greater say in politics. Many critics feared a repeat of what has happened in some European countries. In particular, radical left wing extremists with hateful agendas.
A full report is expected in the spring. Elections BC has not commented on how much this referendum cost the taxpayer. There was no evidence of voter fraud.
Premier John Horgan has provided the following statement about the vote on proportional representation:
“This year, British Columbians participated in an important conversation about the future of our democracy.
“People took part in the largest public engagement in B.C.’s history and gathered in communities around B.C. for town halls and discussions about how we vote in our province.
“British Columbians have now spoken and chosen to stick with the current voting system. This referendum was held because we believe that this decision needed to be up to people, not politicians. While many people, myself included, are disappointed in the outcome, we respect people’s decision.
“British Columbians are passionate about our democracy. I want to thank everyone who turned out to vote in such strong numbers and express my gratitude to Elections BC for its work running a fair referendum that engaged people throughout B.C.
“Since forming government, we have been working to make life better for people. We’ve already banned big money and introduced tough new restrictions on lobbyists to put people back at the centre of our politics. There’s a lot more work to do, and our government is going to keep working with our partners in the B.C. Green caucus to make government work for people in B.C.”
