Elections BC set to unveil results of electoral reform referendum on Thursday

UPDATE: Results are in. More than 61 per cent of B.C. voters have voted to stay with the current first-past-the-post system.

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Elections B.C. will announce on Thursday the results of the electoral reform referendum. The organization that oversees the province’s elections and referendums has called a press conference for 2:30 p.m.

Around 41 per cent of eligible British Columbians cast a ballot in the province-wide mail-in ballot referendum. Voting wrapped up on December 7 after it was extended a week due to ongoing work stoppages at Canada Post.

Since the extension, Elections BC officials have been working on the time-consuming task of getting the ballots ready for counting. Officials must separate the secrecy sleeve and the ballot from the certification envelopes. The more than 1.3 million ballots were then fed through counting machines.

“That process takes time. There are a number of steps that the voting package goes through to make sure that the voter only votes once and that the secrecy of the ballot is maintained,” Elections B.C. spokesperson Andrew Watson said.

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British Columbians are determining what voting system will be used in provincial elections after July 2021. If there is an election before then, voters will elect representatives using the current first-past-the-post system.

There are two questions on the ballot. They are as follows:

1. Which should British Columbia use for elections to the Legislative Assembly?
   • The current first-past-the-post voting system
   • A proportional representation voting system
2. If British Columbia adopts a proportional representation voting system, which of the following voting systems do you prefer?
   • Dual Member Proportional (DMP)
   • Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)
   • Rural-Urban PR

Polling suggests there will a close race on whether the electoral system will change or not. There is also a prevailing sense that Mixed Member Proportional will be the PR option if British Columbians decide to change the electoral system.

Once the results are known, there will be a number of steps needed before a new electoral system is ready. British Columbia would become the first jurisdiction in Canada to change the electoral system if it goes through.

“A legislative committee will be established to look at some aspects of how the system will work. An electoral boundaries commission will need to be struck to look at the boundaries and electoral districts in the province,” Watson said.

“Following the passage, we would estimate it will take 14 months to establish a new system”