Referendum on Electoral Reform

On May 17th, when British Columbians go to the polls, you won't just be asked to elect the next government, you'll also be asked to make a decision about the future of provincial elections.

We will each be given two ballots-one for a member of the legislative assembly and one for the referendum on electoral reform. The latter comes after more than a year of study by the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, and is based on the recommendation this group has put forward.

The question for the referendum will read: Should British Columbia change to the BC-Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system, as recommended by the Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform?

To pass, the referendum must be approved by 60% of the voters, and by the majority of voters in at least 48 of the 79 electoral districts. If voters endorse the BC-STV system, it will be used for the next provincial election, which is scheduled for May 2009.

Strangely, few people seem to know much about this proposal; for example, in an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted in February 2005, only 50% of British Columbians said they had read, seen, or heard anything about the province-wide referendum. Moreover, awareness doesn't necessarily signify knowledge: Nearly 63% of those who said they were aware of this issue admitted they knew "very little" or "nothing" about the proposed electoral system.

While the Institute has no position either for or against the STV, we do believe it's critical that members, and all British Columbians, know about the proposed system so that they can make informed decisions. The information for this article comes primarily from the Referendum Information Office, which is operated by Elections BC.

The Citizens' Assembly

Launched in May 2003, the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform was composed of two randomly selected citizens (one male, one female) from each of the province's 79 electoral districts, plus two randomly selected First Nations members and a chairperson-amounting to a total of 161 members.

The group's mandate was twofold: to assess different models for electing members of the legislative assembly and to recommend whether the current system for provincial elections should be retained or a new model should be adopted. Over the course of 11 months, the group studied voting systems, held 50 public hearings, and read 1,603 written submissions.

First past the post vs. STV

BC's current electoral system is known as "first past the post" (FPTP). This is the same system used by all other provinces in Canada. Under this system, one elected MEA serves in each riding. The winning candidate is the one who gets the most votes in a particular riding.

Generally the FPTP system is regarded as one that:

* Encourages fewer, larger, and more inclusive political parties;

* Tends to produce majority governments;

* Is simple to use and understand; and

* Maintains a direct link between local representatives and their constituencies.

By contrast, the proposed STV model is designed to produce a proportional result. The goal of this system is to ensure that the number of seats won by a political party is consistent with its share of the overall popular vote. STV is currently in use in Ireland and Australia. The rationale behind the STV system is that:

* It might better reflect proportional results (i.e. % of vote with % of seats);

* It is more likely to produce minority governments;

* It gives voters a greater number of candidates to choose from on the election ballot; and

* It maintains a link between MLAs and local areas.

Under the STV system, there would be fewer ridings in BC, but each riding would elect more than one MLA, which means the total number of MLAs would stay the same. Voters would rank their preferences from their first-choice candidate down (through as many candidates as they want). There would be a minimum number of votes required to win in each riding, and a process of transferring voters' second, third, and subsequent choices would be used to determine which candidates get elected.

To find out more about this proposal, visit the website of the Referendum Information Office at www.gov.bc.ca/referendum_info/.

By Michelle McCormick, Manager of Public Affairs

Copyright Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia May 2005
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