Vote by Mail Experiment

Perhaps the Minister, responsible for everything the government does not like, ought to review the debate in the US over voting by mail, and perhaps he ought to answer why the first experiment with a system that is subject to massive errors and fraud is being tested in BC on a referendum dealing with minority rights.

I have asked Elections BC to conduct a simple test to determine the integrity of the experiment in voting by mail. Put sample signatures before the examiners and measure how many forgeries are accepted and how many legitimate signatures are rejected. I have yet to hear from the Chief Electoral Officer.

One third of the US states have introduced some form of voting by mail. Controversy has erupted with accusations ranging from potential voter fraud to concern over the consequences of changing an election day into a much longer election period.

An Internet search on "vote by mail" produces thousands of hits with most of the articles dealing with promoting new technology and lowering the costs of elections. Beneath the enthusiasm are expressions of concern that the trade off for increased voter participation and lower costs may be increased fraud, and unanticipated changes due to stretching the single voting day over a much longer voting period.

British Columbia has embarked on a massive experiment in democracy without any demonstration of the integrity underlying the new approach. It should disturb everyone in BC that this experiment is being conducted on a highly controversial referendum dealing with minority rights - or for those who deny that moral dilemma, a referendum that may cast BC's economic future into the courts for years to come.