The existing electoral system (First-Past-the-Post)

The single transferable vote electoral system (BC-STV) proposed by the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform]

On May 12, 2009 BC voters will once again have an opportunity to vote on whether the system used to elect members of the Legislative Assembly should be changed from the one used for the last 150 years to the one used in Ireland (called BC-STV in the 2005 referendum). In order to pass, the referendum requires a double majority consisting of at least 60% of the validly cast ballots as well as more than 50% in at least 60% of the electoral districts. In 2005, 77 of the 79 electoral districts voted yes by at least 50%, but only 57.69% of the total vote was yes. The referendum failed by only 40,584 votes.

The 2009 vote will not be the same as in 2005. For starters the question is expected to be fairer. In 2005 voters were required to answer yes or no to the question: "Should British Columbia change to the BC-STV electoral system as recommended by the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform?" Some felt that question was one of confidence in the process rather than a clear vote on which electoral system should be used. Just days before the 2005 vote, Ipsos-Reid found that 66% of British Columbians polled still said they knew "very little" or "nothing" about the proposed BC-STV system. The pollsters didn't ask how many people understood how votes would be counted under BC-STV; some believe that only a handful of people understand that vitally important feature of the Irish system. Apparently knowing little or nothing about the system didn't stop most people from voting yes to it, thereby strengthening the argument that the question was about the process rather than about the proposed system.

The 2009 referendum question will be approved by a motion of the Legislature in early 2009. According to the September 12, 2005 Speech from the Throne, the 2009 vote will be a choice between the current system and STV, as opposed to the yes or no answer asked for in 2005. The 2005 Throne Speech also said that the government intended to launch a province-wide enumeration prior to May 12, 2009. How intentions change! The same Election Act Amendments which introduced a gag-law and which were rammed through the legislature with the use of closure also provided that door-to-door enumerations will not resume until after the 2009 election.

The Electoral Boundaries Commission set out the boundaries that would be implemented if the 2009 referendum passes, to be precise it set out its recommendations as well as an appendix with alternatives that it did not recommend. The legislature adopted the appendix rather than the recommendations. Those STV boundaries call for 20 multiple MLA constituencies ranging in size from the Capital Region with 7 MLAs to the Northeast with just 2 MLAs. Some believe that fewer voters will be inclined to support STV when they consider the inequalities involved with the proposed boundaries.

Whatever the referendum question turns out to be, the Campbell government has promised that $500,000 will be allocated to campaigns on each side of the question, plus $500,000 for neutral advice from Elections BC. As demonstrated during committee stage debate on the enabling legislation, Electoral Reform Referendum 2009 Act (Bill 6 - 2008), the government either doesn't know what the rules will be for accessing those funds or it isn't willing to say. At one point in the debate, the Attorney General said that everything with respect to determining which groups would receive funding would be done through the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, but a few minutes later he clarified his statement and said: "I think it might be unfair to put the burden on the Chief Electoral Officer to determine which person or persons are entitled to represent either side. So the answer to that will be found in the regulations." Regulations are orders approved by Cabinet, meaning that many of the key questions on how the 2009 referendum will be conducted will be politically determined by the Campbell government. At the same time, the Attorney General said: "Well, the intent at this time is to start the process in the latter part of this year, in the fall, and have the funds available in early 2009. That's the intent at this stage. Hopefully, those target dates will be met. There's no reason why they can't be met at this stage." One reason why those target dates might not be met is that on the basis of the exchange in the Legislature, it looks like the government can't answer some of the simplest questions about how yes and no committees will be organized, what they will and will not be allowed to do or even what the referendum question is likely to be.

If the Campbell government's flip-flop on voter enumeration is any indication, there may be other shifts in intentions between now and whenever the government deems it appropriate to share with the public how it intends to experiment with our voting system.